"I Want To Spend a Day With Scarlett"

In between blue taping and putting primer on our office walls Saturday, Geoff and I went down the road from our house to get the perfect shot of Ellen and I for a contest we entered.

I was super excited to see that Scarlett Lillian announced this contest, as I've always wanted to enter one like it. Here were the rules:

1. Be creative!

2. Girls: Put on your most FABULOUS pair of high heels. Guys: Your hottest tie!

3. Make a sign that says "I Want to Spend a Day With Scarlett!"

4. Get your friend/spouse/kid/whoever to take a picture of you holding the sign in your most fabulous shoes or tie.

We decided to partner my "I want to spend a day with Scarlett" sign with a sign for Ellen as well that said, "...and I want to spend a day with Rhett", who is Scarlett's beloved dog. As it turns out, my idea wasn't all that original - a lot of people thought to include their dogs!

Winning the contest aside - the two of us really had fun setting this up and shooting it (Ellen - not so much - she got really tired of us making her sit still). Really, it was nice to spend some time together doing something with our photography totally just for fun. Between dodging cars and trains, wrangling Ellen, pointing my toe in my high heels this way and that - we were exhausted by the end of the shoot!

Here's what we came up with...(taken with our new 5D!) - so what do you think?

If you ask my opinion - my shoes are dang hot and my dog is basically THE CUTEST smiling dog EVER. :)

She's broken it down into three categories - Ellen and I are posted today under "Contest Finalists 2" which are all of the dog entries. I was so excited to see that Charlotte wedding planner Alyse from A Perfect Engagement entered her and her dog Kiki, which is the shot right below mine...love it! You can vote once for each day - the top three will compete for the overall winning spot.

And now the fun part - get on over to Scarlett's Blog to VOTE for your favorite!

Sunday Night Reflections

I know I already blogged today, but we're in between coats of paint (just one final coat left, thank you very much!) so I thought I would write a bit.

One of my favorite pastor's (next to my pastor - Steven Furtick, that is) is Perry Noble of Newspring Church. Each Sunday evening he posts "Sunday Night Reflections", so I figured I would do the same tonight. Just a few random thoughts and happenings of today:

1. This morning we woke up to thunder and lightening, which usually scares me, but this morning I loved.

2. We woke up earlier than usual and hit up the 8:30am service at Elevation. By 8:35am I was crying - in fact, I was a mess. God was rocking me big time as we watched something very similar to this:



3. Geoff and I hit up the big bridal show at the convention center that happens twice per year - we didn't have a booth - just went for fun. Maybe it's dumb, but I just like to walk around with my Starbucks latte and see what all of the vendors have come up with for their booths. Also, it was great to see some of our photographer friends, as well as to meet new people - some of which we'll be working with in the near future.

4. Tomorrow I'm looking forward to a very full day of EDITING and hope to have Seth and Stephanie's wedding ready to blog!

5. Painting is getting REALLY old and I'm SO happy we are almost done!

6. Next Sunday Elevation opens its THIRD campus....this one is uptown at the McGlohan Theatre on College Street. This evening we drove up there for a little preview of what it will be like. And seriously - it was flipping AWESOME. You can't deny that God is doing SERIOUS things with our church. It is only a little over two years old, which started out with something like 12 people. Today, it is named as the 8th fastest growing church in America and has EXPLODED with over 3,500 people in attendance weekly. Insane. INSANE! Next week they start a new series - and in the words of our pastor - it's going to be on like Donkey Kong. If you're in Charlotte you AT LEAST need to check this place out once - seriously, come and see what all of the hype is about!

Tonight was awesome for me. It made me think about a lot of things, specifically about my business. There really is no other explanation for why my photography business has grown as it has and has become a success in just one very short year other than it being ALL God. I became SO comforted and SO encouraged by acknowledging His presence in my life and my photography. I know that this is what He wants for me at this point in my life because it is Him that has all authority in my business. I truly believe that He holds my present and my future in His hands - He could make me or break me in a second. And for that, all of the glory goes to Him.

7. Whoa - that was a lot....alright - back to painting!

Skipping Town

It's always nice to skip town and escape from reality - even if only for a couple of days.

Last week our friend Robbi asked Geoff if he wanted two tickets to see the Cubs play the Braves in Atlanta for this past Thursday. Originally from Chicago, Geoff is a Cubs fan - so of course he accepted. We had been wanting a chance to get to IKEA anyway (I can't WAIT until the Charlotte IKEA opens next spring!), so the timing was great.

During a gas fill-up stop we spotted this fun wall at a "Truck Wash" next to the gas station. Before getting back on the freeway we had a little fun.

I was SUPER excited for the game. I'm from Northern California, so I'm partial to the Giants..BUT....I was married into a love for the Cubs. Actually, I love any major league baseball game - give me hot dogs and nachos and I'm good to go. :)

Don't you love our coordinating Cubs fan outfits?

The most exciting part of the game was when the Cubs pitcher beamed one of the Braves at bat - I suppose he thought it was on purpose because he got really angry and started shouting, which soon prompted both teams in their entirety to crowd the field ready to fight. Drama - gotta love it!

Thursday evening we stayed with our friends Whitney and Matt and then hit up the IKEA the next day. No pics from our trip to IKEA, but rest assured, I'll post some of our new desk and chairs we got there soon! We're in the middle of painting the office, so the house is an absolute WRECK. I am SO excited to have a real work space that doesn't consist of me sitting on the couch with my laptop!

P.S. All of these images were shot with our point and shoot, which is a FUJI Finepix S7000. It's a great camera for a P&S, but we're looking for one that is smaller - something I can carry easily in my pocket if I wanted. Anyone have any recommendations? I'd like one that doesn't have much of a delay to trigger the shutter. Leave me a comment if you have one that you like!

The Gift

I spent yesterday afternoon on my couch editing and watching Roseanne simultaneously. It was a fairly peaceful afternoon until Ellen began barking like a rabid dog. Someone was at the front door.

As soon as I opened it I saw the man in the brown uniform and knew EXACTLY what he was there for. This wonderful man was there to bring me a gift. A gift I have been dying to get my hands on for quite awhile.

That's right, folks. I am the proud owner of a beautiful 5D camera body. :)

"Bad Day Emails"

I have a folder in my email account that is marked "Bad Day Emails" - it's just like it sounds - when I'm having a bad day, I hit up the folder in search of something that will bring me a little dash of cheer. It's full of emails, pictures and links to videos that I've collected over the years - when I read/look at/watch, I can't help but feel a little better.

Like this email with a random Napoleon Dynamite quote I got from my friend Julie during grad school:

>>> Julie Zeller 1/21/2005 8:55:31 PM >>>
coccyx - a small, triangular bone at the base of the spine.

as in...
" your gramma took a little spill at the sand dunes today. broke her coccyx"

Or this picture of my friend Jenna's dog - Augie - in one of his MANY costumes.

Or this one of the three grad students I used to supervise while working at Clemson - they surprised me by having their portraits taken with Santa at Walmart - they knew me all too well about what would make my day.

Anyway, I feel blue tonight. I just got home from shooting a birthday party, which went great and was a lot of fun - but I still just feel down.

Sometimes I find that doubt creeps in unsuspectingly and consumes me with feeling like I'm just not good enough. Ugh - it's a horrible feeling. A lot of the time when I'm feeling it, it is difficult to get myself out of.

So, I often find myself digging into my bad day email folder for this video clip. It's about a 13 year old that calls into a radio station with an incredibly touching message. My favorite bit is at the end when he talks about how God understands and that we just need to run to Him. It's just so dang true - there's so much comfort in knowing how God feels about me, how I will ALWAYS be good enough for Him to love me, and how all He wants is for me to run to Him.

Bella the Dog

Meet Bella and her mom, Anna.

I had so much fun with Riggs, that I was really looking forward to another dog shoot. I really do love dogs and jump at the chance to be around them.

Bella was sweet. And very playful. AND, she has one of the longest tongues I've ever seen. All of these were shot at Anna's backyard and house.

See what I mean about that tongue? :)

It was definitely a warm evening - after awhile of playing with the tennis ball, we headed inside for a water break.....

....and a little rest.

After about 10 minutes, Bella was ready to go again - looking pretty in her bandana.

Love this one. :)