i heart faces Challenge - Hey Girl

The theme for this month's challenge is Hey Girl! "In honor of Mother’s Day, we will be celebrating all of the ladies and girls in our lives with a theme of “Hey Girl!” during May’s photo challenge." Source

I'm submitting a photo of Maddie and her mama from our session last weekend. This little bit has so much attitude, and such a bubbly personality!

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com.

i heart faces Challenge - Happiness

I have never experienced it, myself. But I have seen it and I have felt it emanating from new parents. That happiness that comes along with the multitude of emotions new babies bring. Despite the fear and anxiety and sleepiness, they are happy.

Seeing moments like these makes me so happy that I decided to go into business. Honestly, I just love capturing happiness like this. I might be addicted to it!

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com.

i heart faces Challenge - Beautiful B&W

Meet Little Miss T! Isn't she gorgeous?!  I was lucky enough to take some photos of her, Baby Z, and Little Man L this past Sunday. Stay tuned for a full preview in just a couple days.

This photo was submitted to the I Heart Faces photo challenge – www.iheartfaces.com.

i heart faces Challenge - Best Face of 2011

This is my friend's son. I took this shot at his Christening because she had asked me to take some photos for their Christmas cards. My first time ever getting a Christmas card that had MY photos on it! What a great feeling.

i heart faces Challenge - Bust a Gut

For this week's challenge, no shy smiles. The judges want to see our captures of people laughing those big belly laughs. I'm using an outtake from my photo shoot with Zander at book club.

Click on the button to see more entries!

i heart faces Challenge - Black

So, I was THISCLOSE to using a black and white photo for today's challenge... It's a good thing I checked the rules before I posted it! Straight from www.iheartfaces.com:

Nov 7th – Black

We enjoyed our white photo challenge so much that we decided to have a theme just for black. Please Note: You must enter a color photo that features black in it this week. B&W photos entries will not be passed on to the judge! As always, a human face must be clearly showing in your photo entry as well.

Instead, I decided to use this photo from a Hanson concert back in 2007. I shot it with my friend's point and shoot camera. The flash on that camera is sweet.

Click on the button to see more entries!

i heart faces Challenge - People's Choice Summer 2011

Click on the button to see more entries!

i heart faces Challenge - Props

Do flowers count as props??

Click on the button to see more entries!

MPM & i heart faces Challenge - Let's Hear it For the Boys!

This week's theme for the i heart faces challenge is Let's Hear for the Boys. The Shutter Love theme is Father's Day.

The main men in my life are my father, my 2 brothers, and my fiance. I chose a photo of my younger brother and my father because the other 2 don't like to pose for me.

Click on the button to see more entries!

____________________________________________

And now for Menu Planning Monday
on Tuesday.


Sunday - 3 cheese chicken and noodles
Jon and I had his parents over for dinner for Father's Day, so I made this meal in the crockpot. The recipe called for 6 to 10 hours on Low, which made me anxious. I planned for 7 hours, to be done at 5:30, but when I check it at 3:30, it was more than done. I made a note to do 4.5 hours on Low next time I make it.

Monday - Chicken quesadillas
My brother gave me this idea to use leftover grilled chicken and make quesadillas on the GF grill.

Tuesday - Sandwiches in the car

Wednesday - Sloppy joe's
Over rice, with a veggie.

Thursday - Pasta with vodka sauce
We had an off-week from our every other week grocery shopping routine, so I'm out of fresh ingredients.

Friday - leftovers
As usual.




If you want to join in with the weekly menu planning, head over to Org Junkie every Monday!

MPM & i heart faces Challenge - Bright and Vivid

I'll start with the i heart faces challenge. Here's how they explain this theme:

This could be through the colors that are in your photo, the personality that is shining through or any other way you choose to show off the theme.

No one has a brighter personality than my little brother, Matty. He is always cheerful, and he doesn't like to see anyone upset, so he does whatever he can to make people happy.



I hope this works, even though his face is turned to the side. I just love the big smile!

Click on the button to see more entries!

____________________________________________

And now for Menu Planning Monday.


Today - 7 layer salad
This is already prepared and in the fridge so the dressing can set. My eyes are still twitching from cutting up the green onions.

Tuesday - On the go
Jon and I have plans for the next 3 Tuesdays; the LOTR movies are being shown in theatres again, and we are going to an IMAX theatre an hour away. Thus, dinner for the next 3 Tuesdays will either be sandwiches or fast food (yuck) so we can eat in the car.

Wednesday - Grilled chicken and a veggie
One of my bridal shower presents from last weekend was a new George Foreman grill, with removable plates! The one we have now doesn't have this feature, so cleaning it is a task that we seriously fight over. Now, we can just pop the plates off and clean them in the sink! I'm uber-excited about this. Way more excited than I expected.

Thursday - Burgers and corn on the cob
As I said last week, this is a summer thing. Even though we can't grill outside, just the meal itself screams summer to me.

Friday - leftovers




If you want to join in with the weekly menu planning, head over to Org Junkie every Monday!

MPM & i heart faces Challenge - From A Distance

I'll start with the i heart faces challenge. The theme this week is From A Distance. Not my favorite way to photograph people, I have to admit. I prefer to capture emotions on faces, or people doing fun things, or hands. I have a tendency to zoom in as close as I can.

Luckily, I found this photo from a family beach party last year. The beach is one place where I can comfortably zoom out and include pretty backgrounds, especially this beach!

Click on the button to see more entries!

____________________________________________


And now for Menu Planning Monday. An off-week from grocery shopping means I have very few fresh ingredients left and I'll be making some boring meals this week.

Monday - mushroom & beef stew
I found a mix that is gluten-free, with no MSG/sodium/preservatives. It's kinda pricey though, so I won't be making a habit of buying it.

Tuesday - grilled cheese
Tuesday nights are becoming Jon's night out with friends, so I need a quick and easy meal. I just hope this greasy sandwich doesn't become a once-a-week habit.

Wednesday - burgers and a veggie
This, however, I do NOT mind as a once-a-week habit! I love burgers in the summertime.

Thursday - grilled chicken and a veggie
Soaked in honey teriyaki sauce.

Friday - leftovers
I try to do this for lunch or dinner on weekends so A, I don't have to cook; and B, we keep the fridge clean and organized.



If you want to join in with the weekly menu planning, head over to Org Junkie every Monday!

i heart faces Challenge - Soft & Sweet

I wish I had a soft little baby to use for this week's challenge.

Instead, I'm using a photo of Matty. Because I love seeing his sweet daydreaming face!



He is playing on a Challenger Baseball League this year, and I have some cute photos to share from opening day. Maybe tomorrow.

Click on the button to see more entries!

i heart faces Challenge - Pets

Click on the button to see more entries!

i heart faces Challenge - Slices of Life... and GTKY!

1. what inspires you? lots of things... the sun, newly bloomed flowers, brand new crayons, an empty SD card, a new action or texture, a favorite song. and people, too. people like Kelle Hampton and Beth Fletcher and Keli Hoskins. people like my younger brother and his friends.

2. what was the last thing you bought yourself? I had to get gas 2 days ago, does that count? Oh wait, I have a DD gift card, so I treated myself to store-bought coffee last Friday.

3. would you rather watch a movie in a theater or from the comfort of your own home? the comfort of my own home. theaters are only fun for 3D movies. I hate the smell of all the different snacks, and the kids running around, and people talking on their cell phones, and sticky floors. one hot mess.

4. household chore you don't mind doing? Believe it or not, laundry! I love the smell of clean clothing, and how everything is warm straight out of the dryer. I actually get sad when Jon does the laundry for me. I also don't mind cleaning toilets, even though most people hate it. I'm weird.

5. coffee or tea? Ah, depends on my mood. Usually tea in the early morning or late night. I never drink coffee later than 6 pm.

6. what could you eat every day and not get sick of?? sushi and pasta. I'm seriously craving sushi right now because I haven't had it in a few months.

7. what's the last book you read? Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 2 months ago. I had planned to reread the series, but then I decided to take a random college course for professional development.

8. do you think you look you "look" your age? Nope. I have always looked younger than my age. I remember a teacher thought I was in 2nd grade when I was in 4th. Then, another kid (who was also my age) thought I was in 4th when I was in 6th. In high school, everyone thought I was about 12. In college, everyone thought I was in high school. I was even told to show my hall pass when I picked up my younger brother from his JUNIOR HIGH (6, 7, 8th grades). Now that I have graduated college (4 years ago), and am visiting high schools for my job, most people think I am still a college student. Some people even think I am a high school student when I walk through the hallways. I used to hate it, now I don't mind it. I hope I love it in 10 years!



And this is what you really came here for: a photo for the iheartfaces challenge this week, which is Slices of Life.



This is what you'll find Matt doing on a random sunny afternoon. Sitting at his desk, listening to music. That's Life for this kid.

Click on the button to see more entries!

Edit Me - 3.18.11

The past couple of weeks, i heart faces has been running their Fix It Friday challenge in their online community. I'm not a part of this community, which is why I haven't posted a FIF edit in a couple of weeks. I know, it's a free community, there's no reason NOT to join. I just have so many sites that I already have to log in to access, and I really don't feel like having yet another username and password.

But I am addicted to photo editing! Sadly, I don't have any subjects to photograph, so I have no people photos to edit. I can only edit so many flower or snow or Scrabble tile photos before I just want to throw up from the repetitiveness of it.

Thank goodness that I found a new blog: Ashley... plus three! She just started a new photo editing challenge called Edit Me. Regular people like you and me can submit photos, not just the professionals.

Here is this week's SOOC shot:


Here is my clean edit:
Levels, manual eye sharpening, crop, and Boost action from Pioneer Woman (converted by Rita from CoffeeShop)


Here is my first color edit:
A spicy, autumn-y feel.


My second color edit:
A vintage-y feel.


My b&w edit:



Disclaimer: This is not my photo. I did not take it.
Copyright belongs to the original photographer.



I am hoping to get my iPhoneography post up tonight, since I missed it last week. Be on the lookout for that! And Color Splash Sunday is planned to take place as usual tomorrow morning. Additionally, I do still owe my readers a GINORMOUS wedding update, which I hope to post asap, especially because I've been doing a little bit here and there on a daily basis. Stay tuned, bloggy friends!

i heart faces Challenge - Sun Flare

My very pregnant* soon-to-be co-SIL (aka my fiance's brother's wife), feeding the seals at Sea World.



*Actually, she's not pregnant anymore! Her 4th baby was born today, March 14th! More details will be posted soon on her blog.

And stay tuned here for a GINORMOUS wedding update!