Weekend Wrap-Up!

This weekend was a very busy, spontaneous, non-typical weekend...but it was great. It was busy in a good way and sometimes we all need that every once in a while. We celebrated Matthew's 25th birthday on Friday night with a family BBQ. His birthday is really on Wednesday, July 30th but with everyones busy schedules it was just much easier to have something on Friday. Here he is looking a little stunned by the camera, acting smart of course, and just dying to get his fingers into his ice-cream cake!
But on Sunday was the best part of all! He was out wakeboarding with one of his buddies in the morning and as I was vegging out at home, he surprised me by taking me to Edmonton for the night...so we could go for dinner and a movie!! Now listen up people....that happens like NEVER, so OF COURSE I jumped at the chance!! Haha. We had a great time and a very busy Monday as we used our time in the city to do some running around for the wedding. We were actually very productive and found alot of things that we were needing and looking for. So it was great! Thanks babe for the surprise...it definitly made my weekend! XOXO

3 Things

Just a random post today on 3 things that I am feeling extremely grateful for.

1.) Patience & Understanding-it is so nice when you are able to be with someone who exudes such a patience and understanding with you and for you. This can mean so much, and I just cannot be more grateful for those people in my life who are so patient and understanding with me.

2.) Art- I cannot get enough of it. Whether it be through my scrapbooking, photography, journaling, dance...art and the creative energy it releases is amazing. It honestly is the most powerful endorphin. I am so thankful for the ability to see art, create art, feel art and to "get" art. It truly can bring so much happiness into a person's life.

3.) Living in a small town- I am really grateful to be living in a small town. This is really hard to believe as I swore I would never live in a small town, when I was younger. However, I am so thankful for all of the things a small town provides me. I am thankful for the peace and quiet, a huge yard where my dog is free to run and play, and a 3 minute drive to work (there and back).

Just some random thoughts.

Fields of Gold

On the weekend as I was driving along the highway I spotted these beautiful canola fields. Well, knowing me I could NOT pass up an amazing photo opportunity. I called up Mandi, my sister in law and her fiancee to join us for a little photo session. As you can all imagine, the guys were SO EXCITED by this.....umm...not quite! But we all got through it and the pictures turned out so great. The fields look unbelievable. Thanks guys for being so cooperative, and thanks Matthew for letting me capture another memory! You will thank me one day for caring so much!!:)

Some Layouts!

Just a few layouts I have done over the past. I just got a sewing machine so I have also played around with that on 2 of these layouts as well.

Have a very happy Sunday!

A little something

Just wanted to share a favorite picture I was able to take of my lilies this year. I absolutely love them and could not waste a great photo opportunity.

More Photography

Here is just another sampling of some of the photography I have done. This collection is of some family portraits I had done, as well as engagements for my sister in law. I had tons of fun shooting these images and they are some of my personal favorites as well.

Portrait Love

What can I say? I LOVE to photograph my husband to be....even though I have to beg and plead for him to sit for 2 seconds!! But in the end it is all worth it. I love these shots I was able to get of him in our backyard the other day. I could seriously photograph him for hours. Thanks hon!

Puppy Love

Just a quick post today. Just wanted to share a picture taken yesterday of myself with my puppy Hurley. Actually, she is not a puppy anymore but I still call her one! She is such a little ball of sunshine and unconditional love within our family. I think the one thing that gets me everytime is just how intuitive these animals are, and how their love and attachment towards their owners is so unconditional.

As I am writing this, she is laying beside my feet curled up in a ball sleeping. Usually she is not allowed in my office, however today is an exception...plus she is quite sweet company.

She is something that makes me smile everyday.

Happy Monday

Happy Monday...a fresh start to a new week! Usually Mondays I dread...and yes this morning I had to drag myself out of bed, but today turned out to be a great day! Had a nice day at work, finished a big project on my "to-do" list, made Panini sandwiches on my new panini maker (which turned out so delicious) and last but not least took my dog for a walk with Matthew. It is so nice to just be able to walk outside, and listen to the birds sing, share a quiet conversation and just enjoy "being" in it all. It is moments like that I treasure for it is so easy to get so caught up in the world around us, where we can tend to forget and lose sense of it all. And to be honest, I really did have to drag my butt off my couch but in the end...definitly worth it all.

Just a random thought for a Monday!:)

I Heart Summer

Just posting a new favorite pic of my future hubby!! (I think only 70 days or so left...yay!) This picture just reminds me of how we love summer and how taking out the boat has been, and continues to be, one of our favorite things to do together. XOXO

Wishing all of you a fabulous summer filled with all your favorite and special things to do with your loved ones and families! Let's enjoy all of that sunshine while we can!

Picture Snippets

Here are some of my photographs I have taken over the years for myself and for others. I have done various family shoots, wedding shoots, engagement shoots...and on other days just random picture taking. I have attached a few randoms. Hope you all like!

Thoughts on Creativity

I came across the following quote and I just had to share.

"Creativity is more about taking the facts, fictions, and feelings we store away and finding new ways to connect them. What we're talking about here is metaphor. Metaphor is the life blood of all art, if it is not art itself. Metaphor is our vocabulary for connecting what we are experiencing now with what we have experienced before. It's not only how we express what we remember, it's how we interpret it-for ourselves and others"

~Twyla Tharp

Regarding creativity...that is exactly how I feel.

A Best Friend

Last night I had a really fun girls night. I met up with a few of my gal friends and we hit up "Sex & the City" at the good ol' Aurora Theatre in Lac La Biche. It was such a great movie and so nice to just hang out and watch a chick flick together.
Watching that movie just reminded me how lucky I am to have such awesome women in my life. My best friend Hannan and I have been through it all, but she is definitly one person who just "get's" me, and who I totally get. We share a level of comfort and closeness that words cannot even begin to explain. She is someone I know I can share anything and everything with...sometimes even no conversation is needed. I go back to the days when we had our apartments when we were going to school, and how we would just go over to each others place, plop on the couch and talk for hours. Or just going to the mall, or our countless hours spent on the phone. Life is so different now, different priorities, distances separating us...sometimes I wish I could just go back. But having her as a best friend also makes me look so forward to the future.
Anyway...just thought I would share.

Showers of Love

On Saturday I was thrown a beautiful bridal shower. It was such a fabulous day! I didn't know how I was going to be through the whole thing (considering I am not a huge fan of being center of attention) but it was so great! I enjoyed myself from beginning to end. What a special day it was. A day I will hold near and dear in my heart forever. The excitement, the anticipation, just the overall "mood" I was in that day. I will never forget it. I can't imagine how I will be feeling on the day of the wedding!

All of my bridesmaids, as well as my mom and mother in law went above and beyond to make the day super beautiful for me. They had a towel cake made, a
wishing tree, thank you favors for all the guests, any and every

type of appetizer you could think of! It was amazing. They are all such amazing women...each and every one of them. I am so blessed to have such wonderful relationships in my life. It was such a great day, and definitly went by in one big blur. I am still in the midst of processing everything. Very overwhelming.

"Live well, Laugh often, Love much"

Something to Share

"Never lose an opportunity of seeing anything that is beautiful, for beauty is God's handwriting"
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

In a world that can seem pretty chaotic, overwhelming, and highly negative at times it is such a great sense of comfort when a person can just stop and sense something beautiful in the world. Something natural, something free, something beyond anybody or anything. Something with a purity that can never be tainted.

Looking at this picture, it just reminds me that every so often it is OK to stop and take a breath and just enjoy what is in front of me right now. To stop worrying about the little things that don't matter so much and instead to focus on the real things that matter, or that will matter in the end. To think about the treasured relationships I have in my life, what I should do maybe to improve them, maybe get in touch with someone I have not talked to in a while. It may also remind me to send a prayer in the direction of someone who really needs it right now. No matter how bad I may feel at times, there is always someone out there going through way worse. It is important to think of them too. And simply, just be thankful. Be so thankful.