preparation overload

So the reality is getting more and more real that I will be shooting my very first wedding in 2 months for these guys....


Cute couple right? I Love my new camera, however it has been a big pain int he butt learning to use it... thank heavens for my digital imaging teacher at UVU who has been so so helpful and has spent tons of after class time explaining things to me. The engagement shoot well pretty well. I had a little over exposure problem however I shot them in raw format so I was able to fix most of them where you don't even notice.

I made their announcements which are now being prepared to be mailed this week.


I will take Kelsey's bridal pictures when the spring decides to come and the wedding is April 29th in Sacramento CA.

Until then, I am left preparing. I have spent countless hours already preparing, bought books, watched videos.... everything I can do to make me feel more confidant and prepared for this. I love that this is happening for me because it forced me to learn so much about my camera and wedding techniques. :)

Photography is fun!



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Valentines Day

Today is Valentines day for most..... well not really for me. I am at school all day till 5 and Brett is at work till 4 and then off to school until around 10 tonight. So we did our valentines celebration on Saturday night. It was quite romantic. We went to see a movie during the day- we saw Just Go With It. It was really funny and cute. Then we came home and started cooking.


The steak was SO good. I got the recipe for the Garlic Cheddar Biscuits that they serve at Red Lobster and they turned out great. I had never made a homemade cheesecake before and it turned out super good as well.... no disasters in the kitchen (surprisingly) :)

We ate it in candlelight with Martinellis and made romantic toasts to each other with our wine glasses. It was fun (and sappy)

Happy Valentines to everyone I love! I hope you all have a great day and no matter if you have a valentine or not, I love you!!


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school....

School is a little different this semester than last semester. I am much more involved in the digital classes... Digital Media, Digital Imaging, & Digital Prepress. They have been so much fun and I am loving what I am doing. I am also taking a 3d design class because it is required. Its ok but I would rather be playing on my computer in Photoshop or In Design. :)

Here are a few things I have done for assignments so far...



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Job Interviews

Brett has been busy busy with school and work but on top of that, he is interviewing for a new job. Yeah! I cant believe that his school is finally coming to an end and he is looking for the right place to start his career. It has been a long road but it has all been worth it. He has interviewed with several accounting firms. They are located in Salt Lake and he had an interview an accounting and consulting firm in Ogden today that went really well. He had a second interview with a firm in Salt Lake the other day and now we are just waiting to see if they will make him an offer. Surprisingly they have been really understanding of him still being in school till April. He is still able to work 30-35 hours a week- same as he does now and they are understanding about that. If he gets a job in Salt Lake then we an stay in Lehi but if he takes a job in Ogden, then we will be moving up there- my sister lives there so it would not be a bad choice :) I'm super proud of my husband!

Keep your fingers crossed for us.



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New Years Eve

My sisters and I decided to spend New Years Eve together in Ogden this year. We got this great deal at FatCats where we got to bowl for 3 hours, mini golf and ride bumper cars. It included pizza, drinks and ice cream for $50 for all of us. It was really fun. After that, we went back to Alyssa's house and played games and waited for the new year to come in.

New Years Day Macy and Andrew were going to leave but decided to spend one more day with us so we went to the movies and to lunch together. Then we played some more games. It was a fun weekend with them. They are 2 of my best friends and I am so grateful to have them. I just wished we lived closer to each other.

I GOT IT!

My new camera is here!! We went to pick it up last night and it is SO beautiful!!!! I love it and cant wait to actually figure it all out and know how to use it. :)



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Christmas eve...

Christmas eve was a blast! I love having our annual extended family get together to go caroling on Christmas Eve. And then having my entire immediate family together in the same room to open presents. My family does our entire Christmas on Christmas Eve- we wait for santa and then open gifts till the early hours of the morning. Although there is mo longer anyone in my family who believes in Santa Clause anymore. It was a really good Christmas this year!

Christmas day we got to talk to Nathan which was really good. He is doing well and it was good to hear his voice. We had breakfast with Mom and Dad Smith and then they were off the airport pretty early- mom is going to see Mandi's family in Columbia MO.

I love Christmas and cant believe it is over... but next year will be here before i know it.


On another note- today is Brett and my 5 year anniversary. Time has gone by so fast. But I am so happy that I married Brett. He is amazing and is a trooper for putting up with me.




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Christmas Card

I emailed my Christmas Card out to all my family- Here it is in case I missed anyone. Merry Christmas!

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Christmas with the nieces

We were so so happy that Trevor and Elise and their 4 girls were able to spend 4 days here in Orem this Christmas. We thought that they were not going to be able to be here so it was awesome to spend time with them. Those girls are the cutest girls that I know and it was fun to play with them. We did Christmas on Friday before they headed out. It was really fun... the girls got lightsabers with were a big hit. We miss them already but will see them this summer!


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5 year anniversary getaway

For our 5 year anniversary which is on Monday we went up to Salt Lake to spend a few days. We stayed at the Hilton and they upgraded our room to a big room for free since we were celebrating a big anniversary. We went to Temple Square to see the lights one night and the net night went to a nice dinner and to a movie. It was really fun to just get away for the weekend just the two of us.


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FInals are over!

It is the time of year that both Brett and I have been waiting for.... Finals are over and we are back to a normal life... at least for a few weeks. At one point I had 8 projects in the works plus I had 2 final tests so it got a bit stressful for a while. Brett did really well on all of his finals and despite being really stressed and working practically full time he managed to get a 3.75 GPA. I'm so proud of him. He is half way done with his Masters program and he is so happy about it. I did pretty well this semester as well and I learned SO much. I don't have my final grades but I think I have all A's and A-'s except in drawing- So I guess I'm pretty proud of myself too. :)

Now I am just at home working on a few crafts and a video for my cousins court of honor. Brett's work schedule is really busy now that Christmas is so close so he is working long hours. I am so excited for my sister to get here from Montana on Saturday and even more exited for Christmas!

Brett and I are going to Slat Lake for a couple nights this weekend for a getaway/5 year anniversary celebration. I'm not sure what we are going to do but it will be fun.



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Brett's 27th Birthday

My Honey B turned 27 yesterday. He was able to get off work around 4 so we headed to a movie- We saw Unstoppable and it was really good. Then we headed over to Red Lobster for dinner. It was fun to just get away from work, school and homework for a while to be together. When we got home, We had some cake that I made and I sang to him. The girls enjoyed some cake too. :)

Happy Birthday Sweetie!


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Black Friday Recap....

Thanksgiving was a blast! I had so much fun with all my family. Macy was not able to come because roads in Montana were either closed or frozen same with Idaho. It was really sad but at least Drew's family lives in Bozeman too so they had somewhere to go for thanksgiving.

Black Friday Shopping is a tradition in our family... our motto- Divide and Conquer! Walmart did part of their Black Friday at Midnight so we all went to that- even Brett came with me. It was really crazy there. Then Alyssa and I went to Shopko. We had a big list of things to get for ourselves as well as others that were at other stores. We got there around 2am and were about 7th or so in line. We took a heater and blankets and stayed really warm.... We got everything on our list and were home and in bed by 6. I am still trying to catch up on my sleep and have been a bit grouchy because of it the last 2 days. The people in our family who went to Target did not have the same luck we did and came home empty handed- I guess it was pretty crazy over there. :) I'm glad I went to Shopko-


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Thanksgiving is almost here!

I am getting excited for the holidays... Family will be arriving tomorrow night. My sister Macy and her Husby Drew are driving from Montana- Alyssa and Kellen are coming from Ogden, and my aunt and uncle are driving in from Northern California. I am a bit worried about them all driving in the cold snowwy weather. There has been a blizzard warning put out and that is supposed to hit this evening and all through the night. I am glad that the rest of us live so close and will not have to drive so much. We are having Thanksgiving in Orem at a church because there will be 30 something of us here this year. I just love big family get togethers. The only family missing is Keith's. We will miss them.
Another exciting thing is Black Friday shopping!! This has been a tradition for as long as I can remember. The last 2 years were spend out of state with the Smith's so I have missed out so I am excited for all the hustle and bustle of all the crazy people who get up at 2 in the morning to wait in line in the freezing cold.
My immediate family will be getting a new family picture taken this weekend. We do not have one with Andrew added except ones from their wedding.
So that is the madness/funness I have have going on this week. But today and tomorrow will be spent on homework projects and laundry folding :(



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New blog layout & new camera

I redesigned my craft blog so now it has videos that I have made, my photography portfolio, all my crafts and also a place for my other projects- school, painting, drawing (I will post those later)
http://creationsbycali.blogspot.com

I am SO excited for christmas this year... well its more like the first week of January when I will get my only gift from brett... but its a big one and I have been wanting it for a long time. It is the just barely released last month Nikon D7000- Isn't it so pretty... oh I cant wait. - I am doing my very first wedding in April so I will have to get used to it pretty fast. :)



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