We got more bounce in california... ::sings::

Guess where I am? If you said "California" - you're right! Taleah and I are in California frequenting all the local attractions (specifically Magic Mountain!) Woot! I can tell you, I'm loving the sun. For those of you who are unaware, I was born and raised in California and I'm quickly acclimating back to the lovely sunshine. I will have a hard time returning to cloudy dreary Oregon. ::sighs:: I could do without the traffic though! It's a living nightmare. AND I miss my hubby. A lot. A lot. A lot. I wish we could have taken him along, but alas, work had first priority. ::frowns sadly:: AND I have a sunburn - like I said, I'm still acclimating.

Taleah and I went and visited our old home in Simi Valley. Neither one of us could remember exactly what it looked like (it has been 16 years since we've lived there). We were really hoping that it would be a cute place and that it hadn't turned into some drug house since we grew up there. We pleasantly discovered that our parents have great taste and choose a quaint little place in a cute neighborhood. It was so fun experiencing all the memories that came rushing back - learning to ride a bike, playing dress up in the front yard, carving pumpkins, etc.

Anyway, we did snap some quick photos for those of your who are interested. ::grins::

It's us in front of our old house!

Here's a photo of the sunset from a lookout near our hotel. We used my sister's sun glasses as a filter! Good fun. ::grins::

[WARNING: To cleanse my worrisome mind, the laptop I'm using isn't color calibrated, so these photos may look a little off. Sorry!]

so busy!

Things have been a little crazy here at Greywood. All of our long lost friends have decided that they are glad to have us back. While I'm so glad that they haven't forgotten us and hate us now, our house has been a constant flow of wonderful friends and family coming over to "help unpack" which really means hanging out, eating, and talking about how much we have all missed each other. I love having everyone here all the time, but I can't get anything done! Our books are still in boxes, there is a mess in the garage, and everything is still splayed everywhere. So today we have decided that we are done with friends (not literally you guys - I love you all). We're taking a brief hiatus to unpack and get settled without any "help".

I would blog longer, but I have to get caught up with the studio's stuff first. More later!

Home at Greywood

We started packing this morning... It's nearly 9PM and we're not as close to being finished as I would have liked. Oye... AND we didn't get to hang out with our fabulous Brownell friends... ::frowns sadly:: We were even going to go on a picnic and frolic in the brief display of sunshine.

Enough complaining - on to the good parts of today. My lovely friend Mandi stopped by to chit chat and we had a lovely conversation as she watched me unsuccessfully pack and then repack a box of tidbits hiding out in our closet. Then Andy's friend Craig came by and introduced us to Marley - their adorable german shepherd puppy. We thoroughly enjoyed the brief interruptions from the endless organizing and boxing. AND I'm listening to Phantom of the Opera which always makes me a little happier. ::sighs happily and exhaustedly::

Now - the most exciting news of all! Our new little place is going to be called Greywood. Isn't that so quaint?! I'll post pictures of the new place soon!

The past is sometimes amusing!

Want to see something hilariously funny?

These are pictures from my sister's wedding which is what accidentally started our wedding photography business! It's crazy how much I've learned since this time. As cheesy as it is, I even did the selective coloring horror. I now quiver in disgust at all selective coloring, but even I am guilty of having tried this awful PS trick before!

Fortunately for me - I wasn't hired to shoot her wedding, I just had fun running around in my bridesmaid dress snapping pictures!

So without further ado, I present my first wedding ever!

And then for photos of their pre-wedding engagement session done at Christmas. I got my 20D as a Christmas/Birthday/rest-of-my-life-I'll-never-get-a-present-again present and needed some one to practice on! So Taleah and Jeremy happily volunteered to get "Engagement Photos" done. I think they turned out pretty decent considering I had only really ever shot with film before!

(Sorry I can't make the pictures bigger!)

Change Change - what a wonderful thing.

I love change - normally. I think I love change when I'm in control of said changes. But we're moving to Portland and I don't know what I'm going to do. Do I get a part time job? Doing what? Do I get a full time job in September after wedding season? And then leave 9 months later when wedding season hits again? I am hoping and praying that someone finds a solution to these questions because I just don't know what to do.

Obviously, my heart is ready to do photography full time. But I'm not sure that our pocket books are. A lot of this depends on whether Andy gets this new job that he's applying for which we are still waiting patiently to find out. We're crossing our fingers and praying! Andy talked to one of the guys who interviewed him and he said that the Big Whigs are in the process of making a decision as we speak. So that's good.

I think the biggest problem I'm having is that we're in limbo until we find out whether he gets this other job. We can't make decisions about living arrangements or whether I need to get another job or anything until they make this decision. So we're waiting.

Your prayers are appreciated! Pray that Andy gets this job, that the photography business flourishes, that we'll find a nice place to live, and most of all, that God will guide us in what he wants for our future!

Things I'm praying that could use a little extra supplication:

1. Twins for the Brownells
2. Comfort for M.E. who recently has had tragedy and grief heaped upon her
3. That B.C., B.H., M.E., & T.T. would find Jesus and healing
4. A wedding/event coordinating job for my sister, Taleah
5. An awesome person to fill my position at work who can continue being a "light" in this place.

That's all for now folks!