Life...

I haven't blogged lately and have really wanted to but it just keeps slipping to the bottom of the priority list, but... not today I am finally making time. Life has been crazy busy in the Collet house (when is it not ever crazy busy) we have been working and Adam has been going to school at night which most of you already know. We have been trying to cook most nights to help keep Mr. C healthy and me as well but mostly him. I have had many photoshoots lately and have been a busy bee editing pictures. Adam has had major homework and I have tried to spend time with Nala plus cleaning, laundry, sleeping and finding time to have fun. I am not looking forward to winter season except for the day after Thanksgiving shopping tradition Adam and I have!!! This year we are spending Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with Adam's. His family has decided to make homemade gifts this year and so that has been a challenge...we have the stuff just have to find time to make 7 of the same thing. I am looking forward to sending out Christmas cards this year since so much has and probably will change by the time I send them out. I am hoping to get a few pictures taken to put in the card but we will see... Other than all that life is great and I couldn't be happier!! I am now going to bed as I am exhausted from life! :)

I leave you with my Wordless Wednesday picture     {I can't believe this picture was taken a year ago} that as you can see I didn't get to post Wednesday..Enjoy!

Sunday Walk

We finally had the chance to take Nala on a walk this past Sunday. That's a big accomplishment as of lately, with all the homework Adam has had and me working some weekends we have not been available to do things like take the dog for a walk. I did a photoshoot at Daybreak a few weeks ago and it was very nice over there so I wanted to take Adam and Nala too. I brought along the camera and got some great shots of my beautiful little family! I love these shots and these are just amazing enjoy!!

 

Nala goes to the ER

On Thursday I brought Nala home from daycare and we were doing our normal things when I noticed that Nala didn't look right I hadn't really looked at her closely since we had arrived home but once I did I knew something wasn't right because this is what she looked like.{see pics below}

 Her eyes, muzzle and jaw were swollen and her pupils we not the same size and she had hives and she just looked horrible. I felt so bad for the poor girl!! Adam was not home from school yet and I didn't know what to do so I got online and looked at what it could be. I called Adam's Dad and he said I needed to see if she had a fever or not but I had no thermometer I could use. By this time Adam was home and he said she was just allergic to something and that we should give her an allergy pill so we did it wasn't working fast enough for me so I told Adam I wanted to take her the Vet but since it was past 6 they were closed and so we had to take her to the ER since they are open 24hrs a day. We found a pet ER close to us called Cottonwood Animal Hospital they are great and not that expensive I would recommend them to anyone with a pet emergency. We filled out the paperwork and they called us back within a minute or so and took Nala's vitals she was fine in all other aspects except for the allergic reaction. We waited what seemed like forever for the Dr. to come in. She finally did and looked Nala over she said she was definitely having a allergic reaction to something probably a bee sting or bug bite but we won't know for sure. They gave Nala a shot of a really strong anti-histamine and had us wait another 20 minutes to see if it was helping and after a short time the swelling was starting to go down and she was looking as good as new again!! I am so glad we were able to take her somewhere that could help her she sure was miserable!!  She is doing just fine now we have to give her 2 allergy pills everyday but other than that she is the same cute puppy!                                                                

                                                                         

Pens do walk away!!

I bought a package of pens that look identical to the picture to the left except mine {only had 15 instead of 20} a month or so ago at SAM'S Club to use at work. They sat in my trunk for a few weeks before I remembered to take them in to work. I put them in my locker so that if ever the need arose I could just grab one that I didn't have to search for. Well it has now been close to a month since I put them in my locker and now they are GONE!! I don't mean stolen gone I mean GONE every single last one. I usually take one or two a day and put them in my pocket and use them throughout the day. I even tend to lose those by mid morning LOL! I  usually set them down somewhere and forget to pick them back up so then the next person comes along and picks it up and uses it and then I can't find it... that's usually what happens! I end up finding a random pen laying around that wasn't mine to begin with but you gotta use what you have too! LOL The ones that end up surviving the day with me usually end up scattered on the dresser or wherever I empty my pockets when I get home and then I forget to grab them when leaving for the day so it's awful cycle that is hard to break. Oh and I swear they grow legs and walk away just to annoy me!! I think I am going to have to go on a pen hunt so maybe I'll be able to fill the box back up...wish me luck! lol

Wordless Wednesday

{Opposite}

I know that I am not the greatest photographer in the world nor will I ever be but working as a photographer at JCPenny has been the total opposite of what I thought it was going to be like. I am sure you are curious as to what I mean by that and thats what I am about to tell you. I have now worked there for 2 months and it has been the most challenging job I have ever had OK being a nanny was pretty challenging but that was mostly the parents fault anyway its a challenge. When I do a shoot on my own time its very relaxed and there are no real time constraints I don't have to sell my work right then and there I don't have to deal with sensors and lighting or backdrops or all the other stuff that comes with working in a studio. Now don't get me wrong I love a challenge and most the time I love being challenged but it's definitely not for everyone. A normal shoot at a studio goes something like this. Mother brings child in (lets say age 2) child is fine and running around like a normal two year old, they come back to the camera room and immediately start clinging to their mother. I spend most my time convincing them to sit on the red dot on the ground so that the lighting sensor will go on, then mother sets child on the red dot said child cries because they are in a strange place and have a camera bigger then there head pointing at there face.I cheer them up for a split second just as I am about to take a picture the sensor goes off ( it does that if there is no movement within 10 seconds) I miss what smile I did have because I'm trying to get the stupid sensor back on. I continue doing silly looking things to make the child smile all while they are giving me a blank stare, kid starts bawling again and the mother tells me its the kids nap time!!! WHAT you bring your child to get pictures taken during his/her naptime and expect to get a wonderful outcome are you nuts lady... I continue in hopes of getting a few good shots and usually I get a few good ones within a 30-40 min window. I show the mother the pictures and she likes maybe 2 or 3 out of the 20 and complains about the child not smiling that good or that his/her eyes look red from crying. I'm thinking to myself then why did you bring him during his/her naptime!! She ends up spending 7.99 for a one pose package which for a 30-40 min session is awful. I have 20 frames in which to get the best shots I can without deleting any expect if there any blinking, blurry ones. If you have ever tried photographing a two year old in a small space that looks scary it is soooo hard. Granted there have been times with I am happy with how the shoot is going the child is cooperating and everything is fine and at those moments the job is rewarding but most of the time its the opposite!

The requirements for every session no matter what are as follows: 

-20 visually different frames (standing, sitting, on stomach, etc)

-2 backgrounds

-2 different facial expressions

-1 full body shot

-1 close up

-1 extreme close up

-one side light pictures

-1 pip and pop ( like mother holding child hand)

-at least 4 shots at different heights and angles 

-minimum 2 props 

try doing all that with a tired two year old. Its very exhausting and makes me love my own kind of photography even better! Now granted all of those things hardly happen every session but that's what we are supposed to do. There were 6 people in my training group and only 3 including me have stuck with it everyone else has quit. Do I ever feel like throwing in the towel you ask....every single time I work I feel like that but am I going to not yet and hopefully I can make it through the crazy holiday season without giving up!!

So when you see a photographer at a studio just know that there probably having a bad day cause most days are like that...at least thats what its like for me....

What I {LOVE} about you...

When Adam and I went to Vegas for our 2nd anniversary we decided that we would exchange gifts there. I searched for what I was going to get Adam that would be somewhat meaningful so I went to the Hallmark store and came across a little book called "What I Love About You" it's sort of a question answer book that we could fill out together. Well as my gift I went ahead and answered most of the questions. I wanted to share a few of the questions that are in that book some are funny some are more serious. I am the only one who has filled out the book thus far so all that answers are my perspective. Feel free to copy some of the questions and answer them for your own relationship.

Q: I'd describe our relationship as:

A: Sugar and Spice. We are sweet and nice to each other and treat each other with love 99% of the time, but we both have some spice in us.

Q: When I first met you, I thought you were:

A: Handsome, shy and nervous. It was the typical first date jitters. I knew something was different about you and I wanted to get to know you.

Q: With you by my side, I know I can make it through anything. You were really there for me when:

A: When I met my Dad for the first time. I was so nervous for what I was about to do. I knew my life would never be the same for better or worse but I was glad you were one of the stable rocks in my life.

Q: Thank you for inspiring me to:

A: To follow my dreams of being a photographer even though it didn't turn out the way I had hoped it would I know that it is something I will always have a passion for.

Q: One of the most fun things we've done together was:

A: I would have to say the most fun thing we have done is going to Hawaii. It was my first Christmas away from home and it was also the farthest away I have been from home as well, but I would do it again in a heartbeat it was one of the best Christmas's I've had and something I won't ever forget.

Q: If I wrote a book about our love story, the title would be:

A: Love, Laughter and the Occasional Argument.

Q: You always make me laugh when you:

A: When you are hyper. Even though it can be annoying..it never ceases to get us laughing and I love moments when we laugh together.

Q: A story about us that I never get tired of telling is:

A; Is probably how we met. I love that we have a unique story that not many have. I also like the looks on peoples faces when we say we met online:

Q: You male the good times even better. I'll never forget the time when:

A: When we went to pick out our puppy together and how happy we were. I couldn't believe that we were really getting a puppy. It was a dream come true and I was so excited for the journey with her.

There are more questions in the book but that's all for now...now go fill them out for yourselves and you'll see how more in love you'll fall with your spouse....cause I DID!! Love ya babe!!

FAN Friday

Today is Friday and since I haven't done a FAN Friday in awhile It's about time I do another one! It was hard for me to come up with something I am a FAN of. There are so many choosing is hard. For this post I think i'm going to be FAN of.....

I don't know how anyone could not be a FAN of Hawaii (Kauai is the island we went to)but the 10 days Adam and I spent there the Christmas of 2008 were some of the best days of my life and the memories created there are some I treasure! So for that I will always be a FAN of Hawaii and if you haven't ever been GO!!!

Twilit...and The Full Blooded Princess

This past weekend Adam took me to the Poison Ivy Mystery Dinner Theater to see this:

We bought the tickets through Groupon and got them for a great price but if it wasn't for that I would say its not worth the money. Here are a few pros and cons:

Pros:

- It was cheap (don't pay full price)

-It was a unique thing to do for date night

-had funny moments

-drinks were only 50 cents

-the ending wasn't foreseeable

Cons:

-A little too cheesy for my taste

-the singing/acting was at times bad

-boring at times 

-lasted a little long

-dinner is an extra cost

Overall I would do it again but only if we had a group of friends come with us. t was a bit disappointed but it was different and new to add variety to our weekly date nights. I had a good time and would give it a 6 out of 10, 10 being amazing. 

Tickets are $15 without dinner and $25 with dinner

to me thats a little much for what you get but if you want to do something different its worth a try but wait to get the tickets cheaper. 

Since we had never been to one before it was a new adventure!

P.S. here is there link if you wanna check them out

http://www.poisonivymysteries.com

{FALL} has arrived

Even though I'm not a huge fan of FALL there are a few reasons why I love it!!

1. You get to wear all your cute FALL clothes that you haven't seen in awhile and some you forgot you even had!

2. All the pretty FALL colors that surround us and make for pretty pictures!

3. Getting to decorate the house all cute for Halloween!

4. Long hair, although I always sometimes hate having long hair its nice to have in the FALL to keep your neck warm!

5. Wearing cute boots...I wish I had more pairs but I love wearing the ones I have

6. Seeing pumpkins being sold at the grocery store is a sure sign of FALL..painting or carving love it all!

7. Now that FALL has arrived that means Thanksgiving/day after shopping is just around the corner! YIPPE!

200th post...such a special one!

09/26/09 the day our lives changed forever....

and

now 09/26/2010

I know I have posted a lot in the past about our Nala but... I wanted to post about her since as of the 26th of September she has now been in our family for 1 whole year. Though it's hard to remember what life was like without her in it and I don't want to know since i'm sure it wasn't as happy without her. I can not put into words the love I have for that adorable, sweet, innocent puppy that came into our lives 09/26/09! What a journey it has been she has taught me so many things about myself that I didn't know existed and also about the power of unconditional love. It was not always perfect and it still has its moments but overall she is the best puppy anyone could ask for. Growing up I always wanted a puppy and I am so grateful I have gotten the opportunity to have such a precious one to be a mom too! So here's to the building of new memories as year number two begins!