Crunchy or Smooth?

This morning I sadly made myself a PB&J sandwich with SMOOTH peanut butter. Gross. Why did I even have the nasty stuff in my cupboard if I don't like it you might ask? Well, apparently 3 1/2 years is not enough time to know what your spouse prefers... I have learned to make very detailed lists when sending Brian to the grocery store cause I like specific things and certain brands just taste better (I am not super picky about EVERYTHING) but I at least need some super crunch peanut butter!

I like to chew things. I don't let things melt in my mouth and slowly disappear. I chomp it and destroy it! Brian knows this. We talk about it often as he is slowly savoring his melting ice cream and I am happily crunching my last bite and reaching to steal his. But SOMEHOW when I sent him to the grocery store a couple weeks ago he returned with Smooth peanut butter and when I complained he said he just couldn't remember. He said he even stopped and thought about it, worried that he would pick the wrong kind. Odds are his brain gears screeched to a halt in fear of what was to come. So, it is possible that it is my fault. Maybe if I could nicely remind him that smooth peanut butter will just not do he would remember it better rather than frantically trying to remember and choosing wrong in the end? Who knows, but after the long conversation about my desire to crunch on things that inevitable ensued this mistake he will likely never forget again :)

So here's to the smooth peanut butter! I am almost rid of you, and hopefully forever! * this pic was courtesy of google images.

Woody and Loki

So this is Woody (above) and Loki (below). My friends are on a trip back to the states and I get to have fun with these little rats for two weeks :) Sorry, but I just don't view dogs of this size as anything other than ratdogs. Woody is about 7 and Loki is 2. Our dog Shugo is also 2. They all seem to get along well. Shugo loves having company and just wants to play. He likes to instigate things and though their reaction is not exactly playing, they still react and that makes him happy. Talk about attitude though... look at that glare from Loki!
And this... Excuse me, but WHAT the heck are you two doing over there? - Attitude. Kristan, I think I just learned why you love these dogs so much.
Don't let Woddy's "I'm Oooold" face fool you... he just might be ruling the roost at this point. Though they all get along well, there are several moments every night where they must do their little rooster dance around each other. Loki pretty much growls at Shugo anytime he gets near him. Shugo is not phased by it though, he persists and they lick each other's noses (while of course Loki continues to growl...)
The stare down...
And ATTACK! I'm not sure, but I think I see a little fear in Shugo's eyes...

The Clark's

Meet Skyler. Total cutie and one of the longest lasting babies I have ever photographed. Seriously, we went an entire hour with no melt down :) I am sure that is why I had such a difficult time narrowing it down to my usual top 10... so here's the top 14. Sky is loads of fun and the look below seemed to be one of her favorites (and mine too :)

I don't know where her mama got these wings, but they are AWESOME! They fit perfect and looked amazing. Wish they were mine cause I know someone looking at these shots is gonna want their little one with them too... I need to go shopping now, thanks Sarah :)

Awesome pushup form and she isn't even a year old!
Many favorites (obviously) but I think this might be THE favorite...









Beautiful family.

SCARY

Does it scare anyone else that this chick is buying diapers? We don't need crazy people reproducing! *This picture is courtesy of People of Walmart

A Movie Worth Watching

Alrighty, so I realize I didn't mention it, but I plan to be a little more personal with my posts on this blog. I was having a hard time keeping up with two blogs so I am consolidating my life (I got that skill from my mom... gotta love consolidating :). I do want to post more pictures, but that likely will not happen until my dear sweet husband leaves town again. I try to stay off the computer as much as possible while he is around which means I am not actually editing all the pics we take when we are out exploring. More pics are coming though I promise!

On to the movie.... Food Inc people. Watch it. I watched it a couple weeks ago and meant to post about it, but forgot. It is good and very informative. Just a quick synopsis... it is about the food industry (duh) and the corruption within it and what is really behind what we are eating everyday.

I realize most people will hear about this and say, I am perfectly happy eating the crap that I eat and I would rather not watch the movie so I can continue on peacefully eating garbage...

That is not the point of the movie. The movie is not about telling you that you need to eat more greens and less beef. Not at all. The movie is actually telling you to how the food you are eating is made and how it is not healthy because of the way it is made NOT the way you cook it (though the movie does cover a bit of how unhealthy we all are, it's main focus is the corruption in the making process). Even the vegetables are not being made in a healthy way. The point of the movie is to raise awareness and encourage people to buy organic and buy from local farmers. You can still buy all the beef, pork, and chicken you want and even continue to cook it in the greasiest, unhealthy, and tasty way possible; but at least buy from local growers so that you are not A) Supporting the corrupt companies at large, and B) Putting more toxins into your body.

You can watch it online for free here. If you don't want to watch it, that's cool, but at least go organic and support the local farmers in your area! But really, you should watch it!

The Wilder Family

Meet the Wilder's. I was a little nervous this morning when leaving the house cause it was 9am and still zero degrees Celsius. Pretty cold and definitely not quite what you want it to be when you are photographing a young little girl outdoors. Luckily though it was a bit warmer by 10am at Mikasa Park. The sunshine was awesome. Great for the pictures and keeping us warm :)

We had a great time, and I absolutely love photographing families and seeing the love :) They were very relaxed and fun, plenty of teasing. Little Wynter was great, only got fussy at the very end, and I think everyone had a great time. Yay for good weather!

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2010! Amazing to think that it was just 10 years and 4 days ago that everyone was freaking out about Y2K and then exactly 10 years ago everyone had already forgotten about the false hype. 10 years. Gone. Just like that.

Well, every year I like to reflect over the past year and set new goals for myself. One new thing that I plan is to stop trying to be in so many places at once (on the internet). Why exactly do we need so many different venues to post our thoughts and connect with people? Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Websites... makes a person dizzy. I personally have been trying to update this blog, my personal blog, personal facebook, and JJ facebook. There is no need for such a thing and I have decided to put my old blog to rest and be more personal on this one. One less "thing to do". I have many goals and plans for 2010. Many. Too many to list (and I love lists). So here are my top five (in no special order):

1) Help people. Be more involved in the community that I live in, and the lives around me. Build relationships, encourage, be a positive influence in people's lives, volunteer more, and in general just help people.

2) Be a better wife. Not like I think I am a horrible wife, but who doesn't have room for improvement? I want to be more positive and encouraging to Brian. We have a lot of changes coming up in 2010 and I want to be a help and not a hindrance.

3) Eat healthier. I am not big on sweets or even fast food, but I know that I don't exactly eat healthy. Probably too many quesadillas and definitely too much ice cream.

4) Shoot for fun more. Take my camera out at least once a week and shoot something for fun. Be more creative and shoot with more purpose.

5) Don't get stuck in a routine (or the hustle and bustle of life). Live memorably.

So those are my big goals for 2010. I realized last week that though I always set new goals each year, I am generally very vague and don't set measurable goals. The things I wrote above are not measurable, but I have written them down somewhere else in steps that are measurable. I would totally be posting pictures right now, but I am at work.... so pictures of our New Year will come later. But we had a great weekend and it has been awesome to be able to spend both Christmas and New Years with Brian. Since he is gone a lot I do all I can to soak up my time with him while he is here and part of that means that everything else goes on the back burner (for example, this blog). But let's look forward to a New Year! Lots of change, travels, work, and LOTS of pictures :)