lighting, and other photos

here are a couple pics. the first one is the karsh assignment that chelsie took of me. look up the name karsh and you will find a guy that did this style of hot light photos. the second photo is the lead singer from the band hearts of palm. jon and i went to their show on saturday night. it was a free e.p. release show at illegal petes downtown on 16th street. it was awesome. they are one of the best bands i've heard in a long time. enjoy

jon's first gray hair

as him and i were in our living room of the one bedroom appartment that we live in, he was sitting on the love seat near the window. i glanced over at him and saw a shiny hair sticking out from an inch or so behind his ear. i hastily went over to him, said, "hang tight" and pulled the measly gray hair out of his head. yes, that is the first one and he is only 21. his thought was that since his hair would be gray it is better than going bald. in other words, he means he is going to be silver headed pretty soon like his father was at his age. i suppose full gray head of hair is better than a spot on top that can get sun burned :)

a day of class

sitting in class... zzzzzzzzz... that should explain everything. the class is color management, the learning is lecture, my interest is low. how would you like to sit in a class all about how to work with color in photographs. it is a good class, a base class that is needed, but i look through the tiny holes in the shades and long to go outside into the nice day.

besides class, i have to work at 2:30. the job shouldn't take long, which isn't good because i would like a bigger pay check. oh well. the job is just a re-shoot of a basketball team.

before i go to work Jon and i are dropping the Mazda off at shop to get an estimate. we went to another car repair shop yesterday, he looked at it and said that he could make it about half the price midas had said. he also pointed out i need a new muffler because the pipe or something has rusted and broke while i went over a bump and now my muffler is just hanging there. anyways, that gave Jon and me a bit more hope! so i suppose if it is half the cost we thought it would be for that (we don't know how much the bad oil leek with be) then we are better off than we thought and we are actually doing ok with our money.

we did our FAFSAs yesterday. one question is how much money do you have. we have $100 to our name. hopefully that helps us get better aid for next years college. oh and i go to write junior because i will be only a couple credits away from being a junion. i am a senior for sure. i probably have over 100 credits in my name. i suppose for my third year of school that is pretty normal. with my credits that transfer and the classes i have taken, i have one full year done at AiC. i just want to be done! is there any way i can get it done any faster? please? ok so there isn't any way to get around the next two years at school. I'm counting down the months!



in these pics, the clock is in the exact same position, how i set up the 4x5 camera is how i distorted the shape. and actually the clock was at an angle on the table. hmmm... camera tricks. love it!

large format

another day has passed, and i dont have much to show for it. not, i totally felt like i had accomplished something in class today. i turned in both assignments do, like i have done every other time, i got both the assignments for next week done also, and i started my fafsa which i will hopefully finish soon. i suppose there are a few other things that i have accomplished, but i cant really remember what they are at this moment. oh, i got my mid-term grades this week and last. i am getting an A or high B in all classes except history which we have had only one test to put in the grade book anyways.

i am so bored, i am sitting in the computer lab on jon's campus writing in my blog because i have nothing else to do (besides a little bit of homework, which isnt due at the beginning of class). jon is at work, which is a good thing for the wallet, but i am tired of being home alone with coco. i suppose, when he is home we dont get any studying done anyways, but whatever. i need a friend, besides jenny, that i can call or hang out with. i'm tired of this boringness.

so here i am sitting in the computer lab of a school i dont even go to typing nonsense onto my blog. which by the way i have had for four years now. how crazy is that. and the beat goes on. . .

oh, some day soon i will show a few more of the crazy pics i have taken with the 4x5 camera. pretty sweet tool we are working with.

my joke for the day

so today was a bit better than the last few days. its prety exciting that a couple hours ago my parents got noah, finally. i hope and pray everything is going well, for the whole situation and all. that would totally suck to be noah and have everything in your life totally change. i think it would be harder to be noah than it would be to be mya. cause mya has no memory of when she was in china but noah will.

anyways, i talked to joe today. i love having a brother. it was really encouraging to talk to him. it didnt really help to solve the whole car problem but he did tell me some other things we could do to the car to half way fix it. like use a soup can as part of the exhaust pipe. kinda crazy sounding but all i want is the car to last another couple years until i am finished with my undergrad/bachelors degree. he also told me it could be way worse and told me a couple stories that made me feel better. like his friend had to put anti-freeze in his van every day. so if i have to check my oil once a week i suppose that isnt horrible. his life doesnt sound to be going that great either. he said he is just taking it one day at a time and life is better that way. its nice to have a sibling that is in the same boat as me and jon. its encouraging to know that we are not alone in struggling. He said if him and rachael can get a couple hundred bucks together they still want to come out to colorado this spring or summer. that would be great! i miss him and rachael.

on to my next subject...

my joke for the day:

What do you call a sleep-walking nun?

-------A roamin' Catholic

car crazy!

oh what a wonderful day... nope sorry, thats not how it went. well, i suppose it started that way. early in the morning while i laid in bed asleep, i woke up to jon hugging me and cuddling. it makes me happy to wake up to the love of my life laying next to me. he whispered to me that he loves me and we kissed. i love him.

him and i ended up sleeping in until 10:30. that is latest we have slept in since, well, a long time ago. it felt great to sleep in. after we got out of bed we got ready for the day and went to midas to get our oils changed. ps, my cars oil light went on this last friday. so when the midas guy gave me back my keys he said that my car has a bad oil leak. i wanted to fall down right there where i was standing and just cry. along with the oil leak we learned about today, my exhaust pipe is pretty much not there anymore and almost all of the exhaust system has to be replaced. this will cost estimatedly over $1500. so what is the thought, my car has almost 193,000 miles on it, is a '95 and is not worth much more than the fix itself. what should we do? buy a new car that we have no money for (trade in), just plane fix it, or let it sit in the parking lot and buy my dream moped which will cost around the same as is to fix the car. jon and i are lost. we called his parents, they were a so so help. i cant call my parents they are half way across the world getting my baby brother. which is great, but why when i need them a lot they aren't callable. i called my big brother, he was at work and said he would call me back later. who else do i call?? i dont know anyone around here besides dan and my sister in law both down near colorado springs. i feel so lost and i keep crying. poor jon, he's so good at putting up with me (he went to work this afternoon, so im all alone!). coco isnt much of a help about expensive car troubles. i wish that i just had some long lost rich relative that would help me.

life is so depressing lately. love is great lately though, Jon is a great husband! never really did understand why he loves me so much. we can do it, we can do it, we can do it. . .

class today

oofta, yes, that is a Minnesotan word. but sometimes it just fits so well.

today i had my large format and lighting class. in other words, i was stuck in the same studio bay for 8 to 9 hours. it wasn't too bad today, i got to take a few of the pictures with a digital leafback. in other words, i could look at the laptop and see the product without having to spend hours in the dark room. i have decided that this class is the load that is bearing me down. a good thing, i am passing it with at least a B, midterm is now over, and only about 5 weeks left of the quarter.

So Jon came and visited with me at school today during my last couple hours of class. it made it so much better. i love him lots! i wish i could take him with me more often. he deserves big 'ole kisses. oh that reminds me, i have no idea what i am going to do for him for valentines day. i'm thinkin'.

i registered for classes today. i will be taking photojournalism (which i am really excited about!), printing, photographic matterial..., advanced lighting, and spanish 1. thats it.
Here are a few pics i took with the leafback for lighting class.

cars SUCK! / rambling rumbles

another day, another problem. I took my car into midas yesterday to see what was wrong with the muffler. When the man returned and told me the problems, he said there are a couple things wrong. All in all, it could cost up to $1,200. That is an ouch right there.

On a good note, I finally received my book that Jenny and I are going to do a Bible study together with. Also, yesterday I didn't have school or work, and I got my wedding ring back from "the shop". It feels good to have my ring back on my finger, I felt naked without it. Jon and I ended up staying up until around midnight, I am tired today. And I forgot my hard-drive at home today. I swear I put it in my backpack. Oh well, my teacher is nice and just made me feel bad for forgetting it. He said he could be fired if he forgot his hard-drive and so on. I know I did something wrong, so you don't need to tell me again. . .

I'm sitting in class on my break, my tummy is growling. I should call my mom today, see how the China business is going. hmmmm... I have to work at 2:30 today. We are taking pics of two wrestling teams of 50 some kids. That will be fun. Mike put three of us on the job though so it should fun and pretty easy.

So anyone have any photography jobs they know about and can fly me there? I wonder if the adoption agency could hire me to do documentary photography for them. doubt it, oh well.

It feels good to be thinking and then just write it down.

I love Jon! I can't believe we have been married over a year, and I can't believe he is turning 22 at the end of February.

Wow, if I have made it this far in life, I think I can make it a couple more years. ya think?

Taxes suck!! So because we are students that makes it tough. Jon and I talked to Regis Financial department because his tax form said that we hadn't paid anything, WRONG, we have paid over a thousand dollars last semester for his school. The lady said that the school didn't have to write how much you paid. It isn't required. DUMB! So the two of us are thinking about going to the accountant at the greenhouse to get our taxes done.


Remember this picture from China?

a bit stressed? YES!

i am so worn out from today. i have been up since 5:15am and was at school from 6:30am to 6:30pm. i barely even saw the sun today. VACATION!!!! I'm ready! now that i am back from school i get to study study study for a test i have in western civ class tomorrow afternoon. the chemicals from the dark room are making me crazy... ok, so i am crazy anyways.

one good thing today; i got an A on my first assignment in large format photo, but in lighting (the sister class) i got a reshoot. also, we have an assignment due next week and i got most of that done, except something happened in the drying rack to my negative and now on my best neg. there are chemical spots. jerks!

alright, done complaining; i guess i got a lot done today and should be proud of myself. i am i suppose.

oh ok, my little tiff of the day. so i drive jons car to school today, pay for a parking permit for the day and then the school tells me i cant even get a one day pass to park there (the little sticker in the window), and then i park on the street and then i get a $25 ticket! screw the system! what is wrong with AiC having us pay over four hundred dollars a credit and plus 5 dollars per day in the parking garage. well screw you, you ass holes who steal the money from a students pocket!!! its not like students have money in the first place unless they are spoiled rich kids. aghh.

ive gotten it out of my mind, i feel a bit better, thanks

New Year and Beyond

sorry it's taken me so long to make another post. after Christmas, and then new years time went by too fast. new years eve Jon and i stayed up watching a movie, drank a little bit of alcohol to the new year and then enjoyed ourselves some more. New years day, our first anniversary, we hung out together until around 5 when Jon's sister Mary came over whttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.photo.gifith the girls. We then drove overnight in his little volkswagen jetta with him and I and Mary and the girls all packed in. it wasnt a very cozy trip, unless you were in the drivers seat drinking some monster energy drink and watching the nothingness of nebraska go by.

back in minnesota we had very few minutes alone. our days were pretty much planned out to the T. one day here with so and so and another day there with the other so and so. it was a good non-vacation trip.

I now already on my third week of school. the projects keep piling on and work isnt getting me enough money; like always. this quarter I'm taking large format (with a 4x5 camera, the one that kinda looks like an acordian), lighting, digital Image, Western Civ, and color management. I would have to say that my plate is overflowing like at a Christmas dinner. The biggest complication is trying to juggle my time wisely and then keep my mind in an organized mess. I think I'm ok so far. We will see in about 3 weeks when the quarter is halfway over. One of my goals for the quarter is to keep my GPA up. At the moment it is at 3.6, which is the highest it has ever been, that i can remember. I'm so proud of myself. I guess its that time in my life where i have to start patting myself on the back and telling myself that i am doing a good job in life. it would be nice at times to have someone other than jon tell me that i'm doing a good job though. oh well. i guess im in the "real world" now.

Jenny and I are starting to be Bible-study buddies. I called her the other day crying my eyes out, just needing someone to talk to. She was there for me and that meant the world to me. I love that I have her! she is such a blessing. we talked about everything big and small that has been happening in our lives. it was wonderful...

Life seems to be getting me one thing after another after another. To have God, my husband, and a great friend to talk to is the best thing that could happen to me. It means the world to me that they will listen to all my questions about God and life and wont make fun of me or tell me i am a bad person for thinking the things i do. Never in life will you know all the answers, and even if you think you know the answer, it may not be right. I hate having the people in my life that when i even mention something that might have passed through my head or a question/theory that i am contemplating that they judge me and i am wrong right then and there. it is one of the most hurtful things a person could ever do to a friend or family member.

well there were some thoughts that went through my head. it feels good to write them down and get them out of my head. I suppose that is what journals are all about.

A Relaxing Christmas

Christmas morning, we woke up to coco meowing (how annoying). When we eventually did get up we looked out the window to the white wonder of snow. Next we popped in the pot roast and got that started. after a nice warm shower jon and i sat down and opened the gifts we got eachother. the rest of the day was relaxing. i just worked on the puzzle jon got me and he played the video game i got him. the only thing that really took any effort on Christmas day was getting up, making the roast, and making the caramel corn. the caramel corn turned out delicious by the way.

The next day, jon and i went down to the springs and visited Mary and her family. We went sledding in the Black Forest. that was fun, the girls liked it, even though it was getting a bit chilly after the sun started setting. after that we went back to their house for meat balls and a debate between jon and matt. all in all a good few days.

My final Project for Class

Here are the six pictures i turned in for my final project in principles of photography. None of the people in the pictures were actually smoking for those of you who want to know. Also you could probably tell if you are a smoker, cause they don't hold the cigarette right somehow. Thanks to my models, hopefully i get an A. Ok, the first pic is of clouds, that is supposed to be like the photographer Alfred Stieglitz. That pic was taken and edited for my history of photo class.

a day off... finally

oh man, a day off! it feels sooo good. then again, on this day off, i have to study for my midterm test in history of photography, i have to clean up the house, maybe wash some clothes, do my drawing assignment, and other not so fun things. but, i suppose, a day off is a day off and is still good nonetheless.

looking down at my hands typing on the keyboard, they are reflecting the cloudy light coming in through the window. the winter whiteness has come about my skin. After a summer of sun and being tan this is just weird to see.

other news, i am smelling a great "cowboy" stew. i made it last night and it has been soaking in the crockpot all night. it is going to be really tasty to eat for lunch.

jon and i went to church for the first time last sunday since we moved here. that was interesting. i dont know how i feel about church bodies. seeking and following God, totally cool, same with small Bible studies and so on, but big church bodies there is just something there that gets me and all i can do while i sit in service is go over and over in my mind how fake so many christians are. i honestly dont even like the title. i would rather just be a God-seeker or something like that; maybe not even have a title, just be that good person that God wants me to be. so yeah, i finally wrote that down, that has been simmering inside me for over a year or more.

here are some photos that i have taken for my principles of photography class.

a day behind

i know, i havent been on here for quite a while. here are a few things that have happened to me since my last post. i was up in boulder with jon and we saw these girls taking a picture of this girl sitting infront of a bench. the girl sitting was a large girl and her pants were not big enough to cover her massive crack. i laughed so hard because of the girls taking the picture, the poor big girl didnt even know.

today at work we went into two inner city schools, the first, we walked in and passed a group of black pps, they were talking about being a virgin, saying up yours youre not a virgin. the next, i met this sweet old man who used to go to that school and is a photographer. after we were done outside with the football boys, we went inside to photograph the volleyball girls. we o in and no one was in there and so on... this guy showed us the team then at least five fights broke out. this security guy had to lay on top of three girls trying to stop the fight.

cocoa had a four hundred dollar surgery. there went our pay check.

the other day at work my coworker and i went up to a school near fourt collins and it was at a private school and so on. that day i drove jon's car. after the photo shoot was over i walked over to the car and the back tire was flat. there was a huge nail thing in it and so Ara and i attempted to figure out the jack, it was so different than mine. in the end we got it changed thankfully. oh to add to it, in the parking lot many of the teachers and students left the school, at least 5 or 6; not one asked if they could help in any way. that made me mad, especially at a christian school!

took photos at the broncos game yesterday. i got the job up in the champion sweet. i met several broncos alumni, including john elway and many other sweet handsome alumni.

the colorado rockies are rocking out denver! they made it to the world series, they are playing against the boston red socks. jon and i tried to get tickets, the whole server got overlaoded, and only a couple hundred people got tickets. they are going bakc onsale tomorrow at noon. crossing my fingers, hope we get tickets.

other than that, i dont remember what else i was going to write. so anyways, here is somethings that have been happeneing.