Loss of another small friend.

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It had become a sad weekend  in my household. Clover, passed on a couple hours after she was out of surgery on Friday. My heart is saddened that I was unable to give her more time, though I did everything I could. She will be put to rest in my yard this week, next to her sister Eva who left us in January.

Clover and Buckwheat in November 2011

Clover, Ruby and Buckwheat in March 2012

Ruby and Buckwheat August 19th 2012

The Lovely Emily - Flower Tattoo Potraits

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I got the joy of photographing Emily Rose yesterday.

She wanted photos to capture her newest tattoo,

as well as to show off the shading in her rose tattoo on her shoulder.

Her newest tattoo, 

The rose and flowers loosely represent the women in her life.

Babies breath

Rose

Peony

Crab apple Blossom

The new, lower back tattoo represents primarily the men in her life.

Lilacs

Sunflower

Daisy

Bleeding Heart Bushes.

Here are a couple of my favorite shots.

A Long day but a Good day

01 Today has been a long, but successful day.

This morning Andy accompanied me to something I had been putting off. Here is some back story, Clover one of my three rats, has had a growth slowly growing by her back legs. My assumption is a mammary tumor. For a long time it had stayed a consistent, small size. Recently it began growing again. She hasnt been climbing as much. Her quality of life was declining. This morning I took her into the vet to have a pre-surgery exam. Other than the growth being in a awkward place, it is fully operable. Not attached to any major organs, thank goodness. She will be going to be having surgery on Friday morning. I am really nervous about it, but I know it is in her best interest. Please keep her in your thoughts and hope that everything goes as planned. She will be separated from her sisters for 2 weeks following the surgery, to allow for healing.

The second part of my day involved meeting with two local digi-techs. I was interviewing them for a presentation in my business of photography class. I will post my presentation in my blog, in case anyone is interested in learning more about what it takes to be a digi tech.

When I got home, I continued to get things done. I feel very successful today. Lots of cleaning. Cage, Litter boxes, kitchen and all sorts of stuff.

I am relaxing with wine now. A white merlot blended with a handful of frozen strawberries. It is amazing.

Finally I get to see two of my favorite faces today. I got to see my Sami, in town from Willmar. She stopped by and we had some good conversation and a delicious fruit and wine protein smoothie. Tonight I get to see the lovely Emily Rose. I will be showing off the pictures that I took of her yesterday, and helping her to build her blog. Should be a fantastic way to end the day.

For once, I don't dislike this Monday.

= Success

4 little canvas prints hanging on my wall.

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Today was a long day. As was yesterday. The last two nights I have managed 6 hours of sleep each night. I was exhausted this morning, but once I managed to get some coffee into my system my day got a lot smoother.

My day started out at one of my  nanny jobs. Followed by some cleaning at home and picking up my 4 new canvas prints. The pictures on my canvas are of my niece and nephews, they turned out fantastic!!! It took a while to figure out where to place them, but in the end it seemed appropriate to put them next to my family portrait from two years ago. While doing this, I came to the conclusion that I would really enjoy a new family portrait this year. Life has changed so much, and I feel like a new brighter picture would be fantastic. I don't know how likely it will be to get everyone together for a picture this year, but maybe when my moms birthday rolls around... That could work well.

Anyway, canvas prints are still 50% off at Ritzpix.com. I love their quality. If you need a canvas print, with the sale they start at $11.99 *end sales pitch* haha

Overcast Chicago - Lightroom Action - Free Download

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 These are my friends Lauren and Faiz. 

They have been friends longer that I have known them.

Chicago and The Taste Of, was a lot of fun with these two!

Click below to download the lightroom action I created while processing this photo.

It adds a pop of clarity and a bang of color. 

Hope you love it!

More Actions coming soon!

Welcome Back...

01 So I know what you are thinking... "where has this girl been" I have been here, I just have been procrastinating writing in this lovely blog of mine. Well... tonight I have other things that I am procrastinating and it has opened up room in my head to allow me to write.

Life has been a crazy thing since the last time I wrote back in March. I feel like everything has had these subtle shifts happening. To a certain extent it seems like things are falling into place. Some of the things that were broken, are healing. Internally and externally.

I feel so free since I quit Proex in May. Yep, I got out. I am at a much happier place than I was while working there. My stress level has decreased which has allowed me to focus on myself and my schooling. I feel more successful.

I have taken on a could of nanny/sitter jobs. The first family I found has an amazing 6 month old girl named Vienna. She is adorable and learning to crawl. And the second family has a 2 and 3 year old, Kaila and Carson. Carson and I play pirates and Kaila likes to be a princess. These two jobs have left me feeling so fulfilled in what I do, I wish I had changed job paths years ago.

I interviewed for a third family yesterday. I can't wait to hear back from them.

Back to life being crazy, and falling into place. Back in February, Valentines day, I made a list. A list of what I need in a relationship. I made the list from the experience of all my past relationships. It was a turning point for me, of truly realizing what I was looking for in a partner. Well... I found him. Andy has been someone who I have called a friend for a very long time. After writing this list, the world found a way to bring us together. His band-mates in The Pine Box Preachers asked him to contact me about creating photos of them again. Getting back in touch with each other was the best thing that has happened. Well, let me rephrase that... it was the thing that led to all sorts of amazing things happening. We have healthy ups and downs, but in the end I am so incredibly happy. This is good.


That should probably be all for now. Time to get back to revising my grant application. Post on my grant application coming soon. Be excited!

oh and of course, a picture of my love :)

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