oops. this happens right?

...its been a while...

ugh. I really didn't want to ever get this far behind on blogging. I do love it so much. & then life happens. I'm hoping this doesn't happen again.

please tell me this is normal?

the perfectionist in me is SCREAMING at me. 

doghouse. 

Well. new month. clean plate.

isn't that nice?

oh crap, its the second day. 

where has the time gone?

please tell me i'm not the only one struggling over here..

so March is officially here

cue the flowers

{in California we always have sun-but it gets ugly without the flowers and GREEN}

Here are my March goals. 

I realized something as I was planning for this post..

I need to put the month before's goals in the post to keep myself accountable. 

I wrote the goals down. But did nothing.

again-am I the only one?

So I shall post monthly goals AND recap on the last month's goals as well.

Eat and workout for the bodies we WANT not the bodies we HAVE
This one is SUPER tough. I'm a lover of lemonade, chips, and all restaurants. Josh and I have decided to try out the 21 day fix. Hoping, that getting excited about something new will help us get out of our junk funk. 

Blog Consistently.
This one doesn't need explaining...I've been a slacker but I want to get to know some of you. I was so inspired when I was reading all of your blogs. You keep me on my toes!!

Keep cracking down on our debt.
So far we have been able to pay $3,000 on our debt last month!! We are rocking it. Dave Ramsey style. We are hoping to have debt behind us when we move home at the end of the year and start our new lives back home! We've been doing pretty good on our budget and were pumped! 

Goal setting is one of my favorite things to do. Actually doing those things..well thats another story...

What are your goals?

A special homecoming

This week has been a good wrap up of the month.

say what

Can you believe January is over tomorrow? Mind Blown.

This week I got to capture the cutest homecoming. I've been able to photography 3 moments of this lady's life. That is one of my favorite things about photography. Getting to capture love for people! & memories that will last forever. 

It all started with a baby boy.

 I was able to be there when she delivered her second child and do a fresh 48 session for her.

 Can we talk about BEAUTIFUL. I walked into the room and was shocked at how gorgeous this woman was after just having a baby. 

I mean-life goals right?

But, what I came to find out was that she is beautiful inside and out. This girl is so strong and is such blast to be around. Her hubby was deployed during the Christmas season but she asked me to take their Christmas photos anyway. Of course, i said YES! 

She not only is beautiful herself, but she pops out gorgeous kiddos as well (: 

This last session was near and dear to my heart. For anyone who has had to live without their loved one for months at a time totally knows how much of a bummer deployments are. You take over their jobs at home, you sleep alone at night, and you cling to your phone-ready to hear his/her voice at any given time. But, sometimes-you have to wait a while to hear that voice. 

Elizabeth contacted me a few months prior to his return and I made sure to clear my schedule for this amazing reunion. This photo is one of my favorites from the session. Of course, as a photographer its my job to capture all of the special moments like her running toward him, kissing him, embracing him for the first time in months. But, this picture makes me tear up a little bit when I think about it. Its not your typical homecoming photo (which we got plenty of), but the story that this photo tells is nothing short of amazing.

The moment when you grab his bag and walk right by his side again.

When life starts over...the way it always should be.

I am so happy for you, Elizabeth! We continue to pray for the families that have loved ones deployed all over the world.

28 girls. 1 dude.

So, the claws are coming out-and we're all ready for it... aren't we? But wow-they stooped low this year! Bad breath...toes...cankles.

But goodness-my bracket is so messed up it's not even funny. I thought for sure Lace would stick around longer to create more obnoxious drama. But-my bracket is all over the place. {don't judge. the bracket is fun!! hahah}

I think it's funny that there is always a face on bachelor...whether its..

or

or perhaps...

This show, man...keeps us laughing and on our feet. I can't decide how I feel about Jubilee. I agree with Ali....its complicated. But, I don't think it'll last long. I think he's just intrigued-for now. 

He obviously adores this girl. Which i'm okay with-She seems real and sweet so far!

Usually-the bachelor normally choses the girls behind the scenes! It says a lot about them! I mean..I barely remember Catherine at the beginning of Sean's season! 

and my favorite continues to be Miss Amanda. I love her sweet spirit and I think they would be adorable together. My pick never wins though.. :(

Who is your favorite?

//

A different kind of Monday

Monday. 

{A word many people cringe seeing or hearing. A word that a lot of people are thankful for. A new start.}

 This monday brings tons of gratefulness. Since its not really a Monday at all for a lot of folks! 

Hello holiday Monday!

Of course, the hubby has 24 hour duty today so we don't get to spend it off together {thanks USMC}.

But-my Saturday client rescheduled for today so that meant Saturday was all ours! 

Friday was spent..

wow-do you ever get to the point where there is literally so much going on you can't even remember what happened a few days ago. yikes. 

oh yeah-full of photography. We pulled off the CUTEST cake smash. She was such a little chunk. But, oh so adorable. She would have ate the entire thing had we not stopped her!

Heyyyy disney fans (: i mean..

& then headed to the beach for a maternity session. I still can't get over the fact that we live near a beach now and NEVER GO. I promise, this summer we will be hitting up those beaches before we head back to Ohio!

Saturday: was a lounge and do nothing day with my Hubby. Sometimes-those are much needed. I'm so glad he's around. 

Sunday: was full of beauty. We headed to Myrtle Creek (a botanical garden here close by) and shot some bridal portraits. Can we say. flawless.

Monday: Full of more cake smashing (: Pictures to come!

What were you up to this weekend?

Finally Friday

...is what I usually say

But this week went fast. 

I'm not sure if it was because it was technically my first week back to work after the holidays..or what! 

I am so blessed to have a job {I seriously can't even justifying calling it that..} that allows me to have fridays off. Three day weekend. Say whhaaatt! I get to nanny, encourage, and teach this little 3 year old four days a week. My job is to keep him safe and keep him laughing. I absolutely adore him!

Fridays are my get inspired. get to planning. & get snapping days. 

get inspired: so I recently came across Lisamarie's blog and website, Paper and Glam and oh my goodness. I love her! If you're a paper junkie and Christ follower like I am, you will adore her! I'm excited to get started on my project life book! 

get to planning: So, my week wasn't half bad this week. Josh and I made it a point to create devotion time after dinner. We light a candle {a must} and go our separate ways in the house to have some one on one time with the guy upstairs. I'm not sure why this has been so difficult but I'm really excited about this intimate time with the Lord this year. & my hope is that it sticks. really sticks and becomes a must do. can't live without time. 

We also made it to the gym a few times this week {one of which my car decided to not start on my way home-hubby to the rescue} and were chugging our water. 

Heres to not letting resolutions last a week and then die out!

get to snappin: This weekend I have two smash cake sessions (adorable), a family session, & a maternity session. I'm so excited to get back into capturing life's moments here in Cali. I headed back home to Ohio for a week in the beginning of January and was able to shoot a senior and an engagement session of one of my closest friends, Jereca. I mean how cute are these two..

I love everything Ohio, & when they mentioned the Red's stadium I was so so excited. Oh, I miss Ohio and all my people..

I hope your weekend is slow & enjoyable. Check something off that to-do list. I think Josh and I might tackle a California bucket list item! 

Happy Friday!

Goals with mistakes in mind.

When the new year rolled around I was thinking about what I needed to change & what I needed to add. You hear all the time that resolutions don't happen. We know. We suck. But this year I really wanted to embrace the fresh start and figure out how I could make it work. I know a lot of people that start with monthly goals rather than diving right in and trying to make a goal to reach by December 31st. I mean, come on. Thats so far away. So, thats my plan! Each month.
I can do this. I can do this.

Instead of being specific and failing. I'm going to EXPECT mistakes and allow them. Say what? Yes. Allow them. I am the QUEEN of making a mistake and quitting. So maybe, just maybe, this year can be full of mistakes and victories.

January Goals:

(& if i screw it up. which I might. try and try again)

Physically

-Work out more than 2 days a week

(yeah-thats easy. but some weeks 2 is going to be HARD)

-Drink 1/2 my body weight in water (AKA:get a cute new cup to carry around-heyyy)

Spiritually 

STUDY the bible. Not just read over it and say check. done. I can read these words. 

Go to church. No excuses. Our church is FABULOUS. When we move that will be one thing I miss most!! I can't make this up. Thats our church!

Emotionally

Read more.

I'm so glad I'm following some of you who share what you're reading. I need a good book I can get lost in!! 

Write more.

Hey blog Hey. 

Pamper more.

This won't be hard. But then again-it will since were trying to save. But I'll continue to use the excuse that getting my nails/toes done helps me to be more productive! I'm sure science proves it. ;)

Relationally

Send more love notes to my people far away.

I loooove me some snail mail. & the fact that our world has us living forever away-its the perfect opportunity 

Date my hubby.

One of my favorite things to do. I want to plan for this. If I let it, photography will take every last second of my weekends and I can't let that happen. Gotta plan to hang out with that chunk I get to call my hubby! (I'd love to hear your ideas!)

Financially

Take Dave Ramsey's class 

(Scheduled for January 25th for 9 weeks. SO PUMPED!)

Save more. Spend less. 

I always budget. I love it so much. Its therapeutic for me! But, for some reason I always give us TOO much in each category causing us to spend it since we have it. Trying to nix that. 

What are your hopes for January?

Hi. I'm new here!

Hi there (: 

I am BRAND spankin' new to the blogging world and I am so excited to meet some new friends from all over!!

A peak inside my world...

I am from the big city of Cincinnati where we proud yell WHO DEY in the middle of a crowded street, in a quiet restaurant, or really anywhere we see black and orange. I've recently moved to the beautiful Oceanside, CA where I sometimes still yell WHO DEY without realizing it and people look at me like I'm crazy. 

How did I find myself all the way across the United States? Well, you see that stud muffin next to me? Thats my main squeeze, my ride or die, and my biggest supporter. He is currently in the Marine Corps and thats how this Cincy girl landed herself a home under the palm trees.

When I moved to California I left my dream job behind. I had taught two CRAZY years in an inner city school in the heart of Columbus. Those kids drove me completely insane but I loved every minute of it. You go wherever the Marine Corps tells you to go...and for us, that was all the way on the opposite side of the world (okay country but it feels like i'm worlds away). 

So, I move all the way California, no job (yet...we will get to that in another post) so I figured I'd pick up my camera and start snapping away with the time I had on my hands. I fell in love with photography and have been doing it ever since! My hopes is that I can share my photography in a lifestyle sort of way. I want to meet some amazing people here and can't wait to see what you are all up to! January is for resolutions right? So why not start my journey into the blogging world.


Thanks to Kayla for encouraging me to start and Erin for creating this super cute layout. I mean...I couldn't start my blog until it was cute!

I promise I'll get better at this whole blogging thing. (: