I took a moment from my day...

wrapped it up in things you say...

...and mailed it off to you.


I have totally been holding out Newport Beach photos on you!

Oh I know... the nerve of me eh?







A little something someone has tried to convince me of recently...

overwhelmed= lazy.

needless to say... I have been so overwhelmed lately :)

Aaaaaand one more thing! (well technically about 7 more things)

Occasionally some giant hearted people like to flatter my soul by passing on a blog award to me.

*falling to the floor in shame*

and usually I fail at posting/passing along. But not today folks!! My friend Hayley over at Capturing Sunshine passed the 7 Random Things Kreativ Blogger Meme on to me.

What does that mean for you??? Excellent question! You get to read 7 of the most randomest things I can think of about me.

*cue out clicks* haha!

un. Once I bought a pretty chandelier to hang in my closet. Chad did not approve. it instead hangs over my bed, which i LOVE, and so I am left to wonder if Chad really is more brilliant than me... like he proclaims.

deux. I love not camping. and why jill, do you so love not camping?? because because because, not camping is just what it sounds like... not camping. yay!!

trois. I never tell Tommy what to do to my hair. Only to just make it pretty. If he says shall we go a smidgen darker and add some violet... well yes of course we should I would say. As was the case last week.

quatre. I took french in highschool. I went by Claire in my class. My friend went by Bernard. I got an F. I don't know what he got. I wish he were alive to ask him today.

cinq. My kids are watching scary movies right behind me as I type these lovely randoms out. It is 8:28 pm. 28 minutes past Lucy's bedtime. I feel some bad dreams coming our way.

six. Who wants to do the Napoleon Dynamite dance with me?

sept. I still really want a volvo C30. But I want it in that sporty blue color... which it does not come in. Chad says 4 seats is not enough for a family of five. what-EVER! it's fine.

and that's a wrap!

I found this really old absurdly horrible photo I took of my bed forever ago. You can sorta see said chandelier! The kids like to shine the flashlight on it and make rainbows on the walls and ceilings :)



and now for passing the torch...
(this means you have no choice but to share some majorly random fun facts about yourself with the world!)

Randomly picked out of a hat (not) but in no particular order... Kelly. Lori. and Kristi. :)

Sweet dreams my friends.

Truth is, I'm still holding out on you. i can't help it, I'm just so dang overwhelmed :) !!!!!

{ wanted: whirled peas }

I feel like I'm always in this great race against the sun.

and I lose 100% of the time. I say that alot I know but seriously!!! It seems to be quite true.

It's a real bummer.




Can you tell where were headed with this next assignment?

Discovering the thrills of shutter speeds :) !!

I took Kassidy out to work on this little effect. It was really too late. Sun was down. I am satisfied with about one in 20 shots. Those aren't great odds for a film shoot.

Oh dear.

cross your fingers for me!!!

p.s.- this was not a recommended or suggested effect in anyway... I just kind of like it :)

p.s.s- 100% might be a slight exaggeration... maybe.

Drool.

Right in the middle of editing I was like BAM these need to hit the blog already!

His expressions are keeping me thoroughly entertained!

This is my nephew Brandon. You can call him brando if you want.









he likes me...

pretty sure.

I'm like 88% sure.

He likes me right Stace? Did he say he had fun? I thought we had fun together.

not literal irony. That's MY motto.

You might want to prepare yourself...

to be super un-impressed!

Ha!

I thought I would share a bit of what I've gotten to do in my photography class.

These are my photograms...

I got a little excited and did 3!



Mr. Williams had us bring objects from home for these :) Can you tell what I brought?

let me help you out here!

a key. super cheap forever 21 necklace. 70's looking glass I found at Goodwill a while ago. scraps of fabric. Pretty little fabric sack I pack earring and bobby-pins in when I go on vacation so they don't scatter in my make-up bag. and marbles. some of which are in a plastic sandwich baggie. Yes katie, YOUR marbles... good for more than just the 'great jar of bravery' I borrowed them for :)

I had so much fun that day!

Mr.Williams gave us an assignment. I took one look and was like. pshhhah. This will be so cinchy. NOT! Haha!

I struggled with it like crazy. He gave us 12 words. We were to capture each idea on a 24 exposure roll of film. Thats 2 tries for each word. BTW... he added that they weren't necessarily literal subjects.

There were words such as 'a tree' 'a house' which seem easy at first glance but in reality were hard because um... well I don't like to be generic. (I have been known to over think things from time to time) and then there was 'light itself' which I wondered how that would look black and white...

and 'irony'... no thank you. I'd rather not.

We don't even speak that word in my house anymore!!!

needless to say my irony photo is not literal irony!

Did I tell you we went to Sedona and Jerome for labor day? I thought it would be perfect. I could get my homework done and relax all at once.

again... HA!

I should've known. Well anyway, just so you know...

my photos are fabulously generic :)

But the great part is that in school today we got to develop the film!!!!!!!!!!!! I was just happy to see something on there! Seriously, you never can tell with film. Well I can't anyway.

I tried to scan the negatives (because I am antsy, and I wanted to see what they look like if I inverted them in photoshop)

Yep. My scanner doesn't do transparencies.

I suppose I will just have to wait for Monday to see what I got.

You know what?! I am so happy right now. Like floating on air happy.

ahhhhhhhhhh! Time to go mop the floor and bring myself down to earth just a bit. Earth... yet another one of my words.

nighy night!

Krissy and James are having a baby!

I'm just going to ruin the surprise right now and tell you

IT'S A GIRL!

Do you ever have those moments where your rolling down the street, singing along with the tunes... a good song comes on and then suddenly you hear it.

Your Bob Marley ringtone. it's competing with your favorite song (that almost never comes on the radio)

You don't recognize the number so you have to make the crucial decision, ignore and continue your singalong, or turn it off and take the unsuspecting mystery call...

I took it. Honestly so unlike me. I am extremely good at ignoring the phone. Plus I have to get my singing fix somewhere (you know it's not going to be at church... right!) Ever wonder why I won't sing at church? Maybe I will tell you later. aaaaaaaand then again maybe I won't.

I was caught completely off guard When asked if I would do photos!

You can probably imagine why. It's bloody hot these days! I usually try to talk people into waiting until it cools off but this baby isn't waiting around for cooler weather!

Lucky for us we had a bit of a cool down last week. I think it only got to like 101 that day, but it was humid as heck!

Hats off to krissy! She was fabulous to work with! Didn't complain even once, but she did continue looking gorgeous till the very end :) !!






Perfect nails... just sayin.

















Krissy giggled nearly the whole time. Can I just say I love happy people?!

Thank you guys! I loved meeting and working with you! Your baby has no choice but to be gorgeous!

p.s.- I saw pictures of the nursery... oh my gosh! It is DARLING! Krissy is an artist, maybe that has something to do with it? Or maybe it's James's crafty skills. The world may never know!

cheese and tomato with a side of nostril rings

If I could choose just one word for today it would most definitely be

Sweltering!

This sweltering days is the day I happened to find myself at school for the first time in like, ummmmm... 10 years?

Wow. That makes me feel really old. But wait, community college style schooling, closer to 14 years. Crazy!

Here's my little synopsis of my time at college today...

Showed up with scant time to spare. Parked without a parking permit. What can I say? I like to live on the edge... not really though, I just didn't want to be late because I was really excited!! :)

Sat front and center so I could stare the teacher down right proper. He didn't notice.

Sat there kinda awkwardly for near 5 minutes whilst the rest of the class filed in.

and guess what! I WASN'T the oldest person in the class!! Woot! There was this one guy that was noticeably oldish. He gave me a wink and a nod, I think he was acknowledging our common condition. That being people over the age of 20. But just for the record oldish dude... no more winks or nods please.

When Mr. Williams started talking it went alot like this...

This is my first year teaching here, he said. I have previously taught at ASU, the labs here are much nicer

Yeah Yeah!! I like where this is going :)

At this point you can't wipe the smile off my face.

I was sitting next to Taylor. He has a liking for body piercing. Really that is just a guess... he had something shiny and loopy in his nostril. He is the only person I took any real note of and mostly because of his shininess. And maybe because he was sitting next to me. And I could smell him alot.

very smokey shiny little fella.

and then just like that Mr. Williams piped up again

This should be a short class, we can't really do anything without cameras.

Wait what? You people didn't bring your cameras?!?!?!?!!

*cue smile fading*

further along whilst reading from 'required materials' list

you guys will need to purchase a camera, I recommend thePromaster 2500PK with 50mm f/1.7 lens.

Wait what???? You people don't even have a camera yet??!?

oh and by the way, there's no class on Wednesday... take that time to gather your materials

and then it was over, just like that.

What? I feel so jipped off!

Sooooooo I packed up my camera and headed over to Tempe Camera to gather all the other supplies on the list. it was a long list. $191 long.

In all fairness it does say in bold type and underlines: $$$ Photography is very expensive!!! Expect to spend up to $400 for materials

So I guess that includes the camera?

But don't get me wrong. I am still super excited for the days that class is actually in session, which apparently is next week.

Remember the post I did a while ago with shots of Natalie that I did with my photography group? I kind of forgot to show you that one image I talked so highly of. Remember? It's the one Rhonda took.

Still. LOVE.

Here it is for you guys...



Something about it I just kind of adore :)

I had other postings planned for today but they will have to wait until tomorrow. Just think CHEESE.

Everybody loves cheese right?

well... until you eat too much that is. Then you suddenly don't.

Dear Lolo,

Do you remember that cheese and tomato salad I made you that one night? Remember how it was literally just cheese and tomatoes drizzled with oil and vinegar? Still one of my favorite salads, I mean if you add the cracked pepper and basil its better but we do what we can with what we got.

love, Jill

p.s.- That has nothing what-so-ever to do with the next post. Just a happy thought I'm passing along :)

do. as in don't not... get it?

Ever been to a little beach town in CA by the name of Ventura?!

go.

seriously, don't not. Do, go that is. It is completely adorable.

There was the cutest little camera shop there.... Dexters. All the vintage cameras in the window immediately caught my eye. I had to go in. Oh. my. goodness.

You should see it! The whole wall is filled with cameras but the top three shelves were all old vintage cameras!

So of course I had to ask... are these for sale??

If you really want one we could work something out.

:) yes please!!


Pretty cute isn't she?

you're drooling aren't you?! haha!! ok fine. Maybe it's not drool worthy. I only paid $25 bucks for it and that was probably too much, though i haven't looked so i am not sure!

They said it works so...

{ note to self: search for film online }


haha! Look at me all "look at my awesome cameras and my giant tri-pod and whatever you do don't forget to notice the red square lucy stamped on my arm earlier today"

Did you really think I had a red square birthmark? It's not like its unheard of you know. But yeah no. It's ink.

But the real question is... did you notice my earrings?

This is where i let you in on a little secret ;) !!

About a year ago I was sitting in Relief Society just enjoying the lesson... seriously can't remember what it was even on... but thats ok because it's not crucial to my point. Someone spoke up and mentioned how they try to wear earrings everyday, because it makes them feel pretty and 'dressed'...

and wouldn't you know I didn't own one pair of earrings at that point! And then as I was walking through Anthropologie soon after, the earring rack caught my eye and this lady's words came back to my mind. So I bought some.

I want to feel pretty! ... and 'dressed'!

So I wore those earrings, like everyday. I still love them actually they're my favorites :) and you know what?! This works! You gotta try it. I could be wearing 20 year old pajamas and not showered for a day (even earring have limits people... one day max, after that take a shower!) as long as those earring are in I feel dressed. No joke. Try it!

And you know what else?! I notice people noticing them :) I see them seeing my earrings and i am almost positive they're thinking, wow this girl is dressed!

You laugh and mock me now but you will see. That earring rack will catch your eye and suck you in! Don't worry it's all for the best. I now own 4 pairs of earrings. This is good so people don't think I'm some wacky superstitious girl that HAS to wear the same earring everyday. haha!

Dangly. I love the dangly ones :) LOVE!!


See that shirt I'm wearing? The lady at the store (oh please, you KNOW what store!) anyhoo, the lady at the store said this was a dress. A dress??

I will be wearing it as a shirt! thank you very much ;-)

Can you even imagine?? Sheesh!

*eyes rolling* yeah let's get back to some good camera talk!

So... I shined this baby up! The lens still looks dirty. Gotta work on that, or do I?? maybe the dirt is fun?! I wish I had film, I love the oldschool viewfinder. It's on top. You look down into it! Here see for yourself!


Can you see it? Here's a closer view...


it's Lucy sitting on my mom's couch watching Charlotte's Web :)

Pretty rad huh!

I had my camera on me everywhere i went today. And since I am unfortunately addicted to Anthropologie I found a way to work it into my 'to-do' list for the day...


found some stuff I am fairly certain I need! Like these fantastic bowls.

{ things you didn't previously know about me: I am a dish person. }

you know everything else. Seriously I have too many dishes. I love them. I will show you sometime I am quite certain of that!



oh and aren't these to die for?! pretty pretty pretty. want. want. want.

Hey maybe since I let you in on the little earring secret you could pick me up one of these snazzy vases whilst you get yourself some lovely earrings?!

Just thought I'd throw that out there and see what happens.

g'night!! <3

p.s. did I tell you that i signed up for a photography class at the community college?!

SO EXCITED!

She's not as terrified as she looks... I promise :)

Remember my first favorite photo from our Newport Beach adventure??

yes, well I have a second favorite too :)

This ought to bring a smile to your pretty little face!
...



A chance capture, lets face it you can't plan for images like these :) but you can relish in delight when you score one!!

Woot! Woot!

baby Brandon

Not to be confused with baby Samuel...


(you see I think it may have been a bit confusing, me posting baby boys all over the place)

We had a couple new additions to the family. They are both boys. And they are very close in age!

so happens that this boy belongs to my sister Stacey.












She wanted one of both mommy and daddy's hands in it. This is one of my very favorite!!







Stacey,

you totally broke the family pact to only have girls! And that's probably a good thing :) Brandon is such a soft and squishy little guy, we are going to have so much fun with him!! (I feel like I owe him some fun, or atleast some bum pats, after those few hours of torment!)

love, Jill

long awaited

Wishing. Wanting. Waiting...

after many tears and even more prayers...

the wait is finally over!



Kelly has her long awaited bundle of joy safely in her arms.

... and he is sooooooo sweet ...






























Kelly,

You must have said thank you to me at least 10 times while you were here. You are such a gracious sweet person, I couldn't be happier for you. Thank YOU for giving me the honor of photographing this ever so sweet time in your life. Samuel is cute as can be, as are you.

mucho love... JILL