2010: A year in review

Happy New Year!!  I hope your year is already off to a great start :)  I know that I am posting my 'year in photos' post quite a bit later than everyone else who did them.  But, better late than never, right?  I've posted one of my favorite photos from each month in 2010.  Some of them were posted here previously, and some never made it to the blog.

January

my lion kitty

February

happy birthday to me

March

North Scituate Baptist Church

May

my first photo shoot

June

glowing mums

July

the reservoir at sunset

August

first family photo shoot

September

lighthouse at the beach during the hurricane over Labor Day weekend

October

autumn afternoon

November

Emeril and his sweet tooth

December

Christmas lights

I am thinking about participating in Project 52.  My attempt at taking a photo a day for project 365 last year fell flat, but I think I can handle posting one photo a week :)  You can check out Project 52 here if you'd like to participate.

Goodbye 2010

I don't think I've ever been so ready for a fresh new year to begin. I have been making a mental list of all of the things I want to accomplish in 2011. I've really never been one to make New Years resolutions because I know that once the hype of the season is gone, usually the resolutions are quickly forgotten. I do however have many things in my life that I want to accomplish and change, so I am taking the opportunity of this fresh new year ahead to work towards them.

This year has been a great year in so many ways, yet it has also been one of the worst and most stressful years to date. I have been dealing with several health issues since August that I haven't talked about here yet. The entire ordeal stressed me out so badly that I didn't know how much more I could handle. This was all, of course, on top of still trying to find a job and being unemployed for so long that my unemployment benefits are coming to an end within the next six weeks. There is so much more to this situation and maybe I will talk more about it here soon, but over the past few weeks I have realized more than ever that I need to leave this all in Gods hands because he is in control. Worrying has never and will never helped a thing, so I have let it all go and I believe that God will see me through each and every thing I am up against.

I have decided to focus instead on the good things that have happened this past year. I have continued to learn about photography and actually saw one of my dreams come to life when I had my both my first photo shoot and my first wedding last May. That was a goal that I wrote down over a year ago and sometimes I can't believe that it actually happened. Which reminds me, I am so behind on posting photos from other shoots I've done - it's officially on my to-do list :) I've always been the type of person who has good plans and good intentions, but rarely do I follow through on them when it comes to doing things for myself (when I make a commitment to others, I always keep my word). So, I am proud that becoming a photographer is one goal that I have accomplished this year.

I will be putting together a post this weekend highlighting some of my favorite photos of 2010. I wish you all a safe, healthy, and happy New Year! Thanks for sticking with me this year!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

I just wanted to say a quick Happy Thanksgiving to those of you celebrating it today.  I did most of the cooking again this year (with some help from Mom & Dad too) and I've been up since 5:30 this morning.  I have had a really nice, relaxing day with my family and now I think it might just be time for a nap!  And later, some chocolate cream pie ;)

Man, I gotta get out of this town...

NaBloPoMo: Day 13

Question: Post a photograph that means something to you and then tell us why you chose it. (It can be your photo or someone else's.)

L.A. at night by Ian Rheuter

I found this photo online last year and immediately loved it.  I have had a fascination with California since I was in my early teens and I have always sworn that I will make it there someday (even if it's only to visit).  There is just something about L.A./California that draws me to it.  It's not about the celebrities for me.  Maybe it's just the fact that it's SO different than where I live (R.I.).  I would love to see the pacific ocean sunsets, red rock canyons, the deserts...everything.  I just feel like there's nothing here for me in this tiny little state of mine.

Anyone else remember this 1990's song?

L.A. Song

Chapstick anyone?

I bought this quite a while ago and recently found it in my desk when I was looking for my lip balm.  I used it a few times that day and was glad I found it again. 'Oooh, it smells so good!  Just like lemons!  And my lips feel really soft now.'  So I continued using it on my lips for several days.  That is, until I went to pick up the container to put some on and happened to (finally) notice the words 'Lemon Butter CUTICLE Cream'.  The description:  'A soothing blend of natural ingredients for intensive care of dry cuticles, brittle nails, and chapped, cracked fingertips'.



All I could do was laugh.  I will attribute this little mix-up to the lack of sleep lately.  Yeah, that must be it ;)  On a brighter note, I did find my REAL lip balm.  Just as a side note, this is THE best lip balm I have ever used.  Even better than the cuticle cream ;)

{almost} Wordless Wednesday

The Reservoir at dusk

p.s. I was going to keep this 'wordless' but I just wanted to mention what happened yesterday.  I took my Mom to the E.R. yesterday afternoon.  She woke up extremely dizzy and lightheaded and felt nauseous.  Even after laying down again and eating some breakfast, she felt no better.  Hours had passed and she still felt like everything was spinning when she would get up, try to walk, or move her head a certain way.  The E.R. doctor said she had Vertigo and she gave her a Valium which helped her feel a little better.  She left with a prescription for more Valium in case the Vertigo returns and she has to follow up with a doctor if it does.  Thankfully she is feeling much better today :)

p.p.s. I fell asleep pretty quickly last night and slept right through the night until 8:30 this morning! Let's pray for another night like that :)

Trader Joe's anyone?

Have any of you ever been to Trader Joe's?  I saw this 'unofficial' commercial for them a while back and I've also heard some good things about their products/store.  It looks like a very interesting place and since they opened a Trader Joe's in my state last year, I have been wanting to go there.

I want to start eating healthier and I'm interested in learning more about all-natural and organic food.  I was just reading about grass-fed beef and how much better it is for you, as well as free-range chickens and turkeys. I am clueless about this stuff so I'm going to do some more reading about it to learn more.  I also want to take a trip to Whole Foods to see what they have there.  As I've said before, I'm always up for trying new things, but I definitely don't want to get started with buying organic foods if there truly isn't much of a benefit to it.  Any wisdom or advice for me?  :)

It's NaBloPoMo!

I am still around reading blogs, just haven't been in to writing at all lately.  I've had way too much going on and too much on my mind so I haven't been able to really focus in on any one thing for long.  But, I do miss blogging and posting the photos I take, so I thought today would be a good day to start again as it is the first day of  NaBloPoMo.  If you are not familiar with it already, NaBloPoMo stands for National Blog Posting Month.  The idea is to commit to writing a blog post once per day for the entire month of November.  I don't know if I will succeed, but I am certainly going to try :)

I have been organizing all of the photos on my computer for the last few days and I'm working on backing them all up on disk.  I have so many photos that I took over the summer that never made it onto this blog, so that is my goal for this month.  I plan on sharing them here over the next several weeks along with a little bit about what has been going on lately.  I wanted to start this month off with a photo, but I didn't get around to editing any today.  I'll have one up tomorrow for sure!  Promise :)

This weekend...

I'm baaa-aaack  ;)




This weekend I:


* Went shopping with my Dad to pick out an anniversary gift for my Mom.  Not that he really needed my help...he does a pretty good job of selecting gifts on his own!  A couple of weeks ago he came into Yankee Candle with me and while I was paying for the things I bought, he was looking at the new fall collection of tart burners lol.  He was pretty into it too...I went over to him when I was done and he was showing me the one he wanted to buy for my Mom.  He's got pretty good taste :)

*  Celebrated my parents 29th wedding anniversary on Sunday.

* Re-painted a hutch I bought last week off of Craigslist.  It was purchased with the intent of using it in my bedroom to display my collectibles, but I later decided it would look better in our office/computer room.  And this meant that it needed to be black now so it would match the rest of the furniture in the office.  What I didn't know is that you cannot use latex paint over the shiny laminated surface without priming it first. oops.

This was what the hutch looked like before:

* Had a *teensy* meltdown when I saw that I ruined the hutch.  I will spare you by not posting an 'after' photo.  It looks ok enough, but I can see all of the flaws in it and it bugs me.  It will have to do for now until I find something else to replace it (and it will NOT be painted by me!  lol)

* Had to have blood drawn for some blood work my doctor ordered.  I think this was the fifth time being poked in the last month.  I have always hated needles and if you told me I had to have blood drawn, my blood pressure would shoot up.  I'm happy to say that after all these times I am finally getting used to it and it's not as bad as I always thought.

* Found out what Burning Man is.  After reading that two bloggers I follow were going to it recently, I had to find out what it is.  Basically, it's an arts festival held every year during the week of Labor Day at Black Rock Desert in Nevada.  They literally build a 'city' (called Black Rock City) and for one week over 45,000 people camp there and there are art exhibits, music, performances, etc.  When the festival is over, they leave no trace that the city ever existed.  It's kind of hard to explain.  I find it very, very odd....yet interesting at the same time.

* Relaxed and caught up on some blog reading.



I have lots to say, so I'm going to try to post some more this week about what's been going on over the past couple of months.  Stay tuned :)

They say there's a sucker born...

You know the old saying "there's a sucker born every minute"?  Well, the other day I was that sucker.  I've always been the type of person who loves to try new products.  I also happen to be the type of person who watches an infomercial and is sold by the end of the half hour.  I mean, come on - who wouldn't love the Slap Chop, a dog Snuggie or a $300 Cricut machine? (you should see what that thing can do!)  I really don't consider myself to be a gullible person, just optimistic that things might just be as good as the company claims :)  You'll never know unless you try it, right?

So, I had gone shopping with my Mom and we were browsing around looking at the air fresheners.  Well, the lovely folks at Febreze must have seen me coming and done a happy dance lol.  I spotted the Febreze Flameless Luminaries and decided that I had to try one.  They run on batteries and simulate a flickering flame inside a scented lantern.   I liked the idea that I can leave it unattended and not worry about my cat knocking it over.

Now comes the sucker part.   I read the packaging in the store looking to see how long the scent will last but it didn't say (of course).  Not until I got it home and read the scented shade package inside did I see that it only lasts for a week.  The replacements are around $5.00 per pack, so it looks like I just found myself a costly little hobby lol.   I have to say though that I set it up and it does smell really nice.  Whether or not the scent will even last a week remains to be seen.   If nothing else, it makes a nice decoration.  But, I can definitely find something better to spend 20 bucks a month on...like Yankee Candles ;)

Before

After

p.s. - this is something that I DO recommend:

It's a soy candle and it smells soooo good!  I haven't even burned it yet and I can smell it as soon as I walk into our office area.

The Wedding

I bet you already know what I'm about to say, right?  This has been such a busy month so far. (surprise!)  It seems like every weekend since the wedding on May 29th has been busy and in between I have been editing photos and trying to build my website, plus all the normal day to day things I do.  But, I enjoy it so there are no complaints here :)

The wedding was nice and everything went smoothly for the most part.  I spent the entire day with Laura and her family.  I went to the salon with them to take some photos while they got their hair done and it seemed like once we got back to her house, time started going by at double speed.  Before I knew it the night was over and I was heading home.

Here are some photos from the day:












So far I've done family portraits, maternity photos, and of course the wedding.  In the coming months I will be doing baby portraits for a couple people and sometime this summer, more family photos.  It's a good feeling to know that things are moving right along and with every photo shoot, I'm that much closer to being a photographer :)

What I've been up to

May has been a very productive month so far and it seems like everything is really starting to come together.  I finally decided on a business name for when that time comes.  Instead of using my own name, I went decided on A Bella Sorriso Photography.  I created a Page for it on Facebook, which you can check out here if you'd like.  I also designed my logo and ordered business cards.  They came in the mail today and I love them!  Now all I have to do is work on my website so I can post my portfolio online and I'll be all set :)

I also got together with a friend of mine on Saturday to take some family photos.  Michelle & I worked together at the bank until last year and it was really nice to see her again and meet her kids.  Her little boy is 2 months old and man, is he adorable!  Her daughter is another cutie.  She's 6 years old and has such an outgoing personality!  She seemed to love having her picture taken and had me laughing the whole time with her poses.  I finished editing all of the photos last night and wanted to share some.  Here's a sample of the photos from our shoot:

These geese were at the park with their little babies when we arrived.  They were so adorable I couldn't resist taking some photos :)