one new years resolution

i made a couple new years resolutions...

one being that this year i am going to document each day with a picture. i think it will help my creativity.

so here's day one - january 1st, 2009

happy new years.

so 2009 is here - and to be honest, it's a little crazy. last night, as i sat and watched the ball drop i reflected upon the last year.

big events of 2008:

watched my mom bravely face chemo...then radiation
went to colorado x3
started a book club
finally got around to making my wedding album
thrifted with friends
turned 24 years old
became addicted to 30 rock
worked at an arena in kansas city
had the world's best boss
saw some stellar concets
went to oklahoma city x2
applied and got accepted to grad school in oklahoma city
decided not to move to oklahoma city
ordered my digital camera
won free tickets on the radio
played wii rockband
had some great times with the fam
ran into ryan seacrest at kemper's american idol auditions
danced my "i hate AEG" dance numerous times
went to wine country
worked a lemonade stand
saw st. louis cards, spfd cards, kc royals
threw some fun sleepovers
went to bristol, england to see courtney and paul's life
reunited with julia in barcelona, spain
had fun while eating the worst brat ever in berlin, germay
caught up with my old roomie in oxford, england
saw great friends get married
met my sister in law, christina
called into npr
read some great books
pretended to be rachel ray
wished my husband luck on his medical school tests
celebrated 2 years of marriage to my love
saw my little brother before he left for iraq
walked in the susan g. komen race for the cure for my mom
reunited with friends from all over the country and world
saw my best friends new house in bristol england
toured boulevard brewery
moved to joplin
substitued in kindergarten and first grade
got a pro flickr account
began blogging here
started working on a etsy shop
played with a cute little girl named chloe
scrapbooked with my mom and aunt
missed my friends
cut my hair off for locks of love
photographed weddings and numerous couples
saw my pictures on x-mas cards, save the date cards, programs
started job in gynocologist office
got hooked on some great new music (ex: the ting tings)
got beefy with altell
celebrated my husbands 27th birthday

it's been a good year. but i think next year might be even better.

sweetest husband award goes to...

evan scott.

who yesterday drove over to my work place parking lot to scape my car windshield. he wins.

i love christmas.

love love love this holiday.

it's magical really.

want proof?

let me tell you a little story that always reminds me the magic of this holiday. so imagine me freshman year, i was rooming with the wonderful gal who is now my best friend and together we had set up this mini christmas tree my parents had bought me. it was about 2.5 feet tall with lights that flashed on and off. that year my roomate and i had decided to theme decorate our room in a theme and the theme was america. yeah im not even kidding. yes we laugh about it now, but i think if you would've seen our room you would've been impressed. we had flag curtains, red white and blue blankets, flag everything. and thus, at christmas time our mini tree came complete with mini flag ornaments.

i used to love looking at that tree. it wasn't as grand or beautiful as the trees my family had put up but it held it's own. so much so, that it i woke up- in the middle of the night to stare and it and demanded that my roomate take it in as well. poor courtney. as if your roomate waking you up at 3 in the morning isn't bad enough, her demanding for you to look at the patriotic mini tree and making sure you take in it's beauty really takes the cake for crazy. i mean seriously. i think my exact words were "look at how beautiful it is - our tree looks magical....courtney, wake up, i'm serious...look at it. magic. pure magic"

and it was. i mean obviously. magical enough to wake me up in the middle of the night and magical enough to demand everyones attention. the funny thing was the next morning when my poor roomate told me of what i had done the night before, i literally couldn't remember a thing. i never remembered waking up or demanding her to take in the trees beauty.

so to this day when i think of this holiday i think of laughter, christs birth, the gift of giving, and the our little patriotic tree that was so...magical.

j and a wedding

this past weekend i had the excellent opportunity to second shoot with photographer dustin steller (find his blog here - www.stellertimes.com) - he's a great photographer and i learned a lot by shooting with him. here are some shots i took that weekend:

woof woof woof.

* paul and courtney have the most adorable little pups. here's proof:

paul and courtney

my friends paul and courtney were nice enough to let me take some pictures of them and let me just say, first they are both very photogenic and secondly, they are both very fun people. i'm glad to call them my friends.

here are some of my favorites from the day.

*look for another post coming soon of the couple with their adorable dogs.