Hello 2014

Welcome 2014! I am greeting this year with open arms while consciously, actively casting down any feelings of guilt for past unfinished projects/goals/resolutions/unfulfilled expectations. My hope when thinking about my 2014 was to make my goals broad enough that I won't get caught up in processes and feel crappy about not completing something. SO....on New Years Day our family sat down and filled out some simple worksheets I found at 30 Handmade Days. Mine included the following:

My ONE WORD is: Peace - you can see my Pinterest board here

What I really WANT in 2014 is:
-To see a project through to completion (Project Life or P52 or OLW??)
-to learn Adobe Illustrator
-to learn to use my pen tablet

What I really NEED in 2014 is:
-to spend QUALITY time with the kids - together and individually
-to have some date nights with Trevor
-to make healthier choices for my skin and body

What I will SHARE in 2014 is:
-my love with family and friends
-my time, talent, and treasure whenever I see an opportunity
-my knowledge of photography in groups I'm involved in

In 2014 I will SUCCEED at:
-Loving
-Learning
-Relationships
-Exploring creativity in new ways

Once I had this starting point, I started debating if I would take on a project for 2014. (Remember that I really WANT to see a project through to completion so, if I don't commit to a project, I won't have guilt if I get off track.) Buuuutttt....then this came across my inbox. Tangie Baxter's Art Journal Caravan 2014 with the theme of Not All Who Wander Are Lost. A really fantastic deal on a workshop I'd heard great things about AND it was going to be the LAST year it was available. AND I want to SUCCEED at exploring creativity in new ways in 2014. I didn't sign up right away, I waited a few days to really think about it. In the end, I decided to take it on because 1)it's a highly organized workshop but 2)the nature of art journaling is that it can be whatever you want it to be with no rules. It just seemed to fit the bill all around.

Elissa and I did spend some time together today doing one of the first pieces of the AJC14 workshop, called an Artistic Playdate. Not only was it was a lot of fun but also gave me an opportunity to spend quality time with just her. We worked on a collage based on nature while listening to nature sounds on Pandora.

In the end, despite what I WANT out of my 2014, I'm still me so I am cautiously excited about AJC14. And I'm serious - no pressure so I can focus on peace.

Happy Easter Morning!

Fun little Easter morning!



1. The kids' Easter "baskets". Luke got a movie (The Lorax), a book (Red Pyramid by Rick Riordon), a new hooded zip sweatshirt, some colored bubbles (to do along with his sister), and of course, candy. Elissa got a book (I Love You Honey Bunny), socks and undies, toothbrush and toothpaste (all very exciting for her, I guarantee!), colored bubbles and fruit snacks. They each got a new ball as well.

2, 4 & 5. Elissa ate the fruit snacks out of her eggs and then just moved on :)

3. Luke eating candy.

6. Big smile for the camera! (this is a rarity, by the way).

7. A little iPad gaming after going through the goodies.

8. Elissa's bath whistle, isn't it cute?!

9. Easter egg coloring kit. Why wasn't it used, you ask? Uh, that might have something to do with mom forgetting that the eggs were on the stove and all the water boiling off. Oops.

10. New use for an Easter basket.

11. Australian coffee courtesy of Trevor's sister, Heather. She recently got back from a trip Down Under!

12. Pixel, our cute kitty.

We hope you're having a great Easter with family and friends! Hallelujah, He is Risen!

~STELR

Sharing about Sue & SCI

I know, I know. I have been a slacker with our blog. As I stated in a post or two ago, we have been keeping up with our New 52, I just haven't kept up with the writing. I still plan to catch up! But I just wanted to share today anyway. This doesn't technically qualify as a "New 52" since it's something we've all done before...but a good time nonetheless!

Do you use Groupon? I've used it a handful of times and it's a great way to save some money while doing something you would do anyway or try something new! Today we used a Groupon deal and went to the Science Center of Iowa with my mom and some family friends. (Actually we've known them so long it's more like an extension of our family - do you have someone like that in your life?)

The special exhibit at SCI right now is Sue the T-Rex - very awesome to see! In addition to seeing Sue we ran around, dug for dinosaur bones, played in the water, shot rockets, saw snakes and a snapping turtle (behind glass, of course!) and I got some great shots of the kids. While we were at SCI, Trevor enjoyed a well deserved reprieve at home. :)



~STELR

Bloglovin': My Google Reader replacement

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

I'm sure you've heard by now that Google Reader is going away; if not, you can read about it here. Due to this, I saw several posts on social media this weekend asking for alternatives. Bloglovin' was one that was mentioned several times so I decided to check it out. So far, I really like it. It seems to strike a happy medium between a traditional blog feed service and a more visual service, like Feedly, for example. There is an easy import feature for your Google Reader feeds, it has a clean interface, and a Bloglovin' "frame" that enables you to use 'next' and 'like' features.

So now it's my turn to ask you...what service do you use to aggregate your blog reading?

New 52 | Week 5 | Getting in Front of the Camera

Catch up post #2! (actually written about a month ago)

I saw a Facebook post by a photographer that I follow and admire, Marisa Taylor:
"A message to moms (and dads): I know sometimes that we hate having our pictures taken. Most days we don't have the right outfit, or our hair is not cooperating...which is a daily occurrence for me. Sometimes we feel like if we lose just 10 more pounds, then we can do pictures. Let me tell you what, your kids, the little people that you gave life to, don't care about any of that. To them, you are a super hero. You are beautiful, you are awesome. You are the bringer of food, the chaser of bad nightmares. You are mom, or dad. When they get older, they are going to want to see pictures of you and them...together."

Man, can I RELATE!!! Her post, along with an adorable picture of her and her little girl, was inspiring to me! So, I made Elissa put on some clothes (her choice most days is just a diaper, even when it's 12 degrees out!) and I made Luke put on some nice clothes (his choice is usually lounge pants and a shirt that is too small - he just doesn't seem to notice). We set up a backdrop and I handed Trevor the camera.

I'm just looking through the pics now as I'm deciding what to put on this post and I'm cracking up! At least 12 of the 24 shots are outtakes!! LOL. (Side note, this is exactly why photographers don't give you every shot they take at a session, lol!)




SO glad we did this and yes, we'll be doing this a little more from now on. Now the next trick is to actually PRINT one or two of them!

New 52 | Week 4 | Movie: Father of Lights

I realize I already did an "I'm behind" post (and I'm certain that will happen a few more times throughout the project) but hey, life happens and I'm ok with that. So, this is one of a couple of 'catch-up' posts since the last several weeks have been beyond hectic!

For week 4 of the project, we had a movie afternoon with a friend and her daughter. This had been on the calendar for a while but got bumped and rescheduled a few times for various reasons. And it almost did again due to some icky weather! But Cammie and Eliza braved slick roads to come share this awesome movie with us. It had been an otherwise lazy day for us so I was thrilled to see that they came comfy in their jammies since I was still in mine! :)

We timed it so that Elissa would be napping which worked out just right. The 5 of us settled in with our popcorn, soda, and some chocolate! I wasn't sure exactly what to expect but I knew that Cammie had raved about the movie so I was excited to see what the hype was about.

So, the movie is Father of Lights. It's a documentary style film that follows Director Darren Wilson and his crew to several parts of the world as he shows God working in people's lives. There are some incredible, AMAZING stories told. My favorite was about an American couple who gave up everything, moved to China with no plan, no connections, just faith. They are now making an impact on the lives of mentally and physically handicapped Chinese children who would have otherwise been basically discarded. Luke's favorite story involved a very powerful witch doctor in India whose power was no match for God.

The rest of the stories were equally as awesome; no surprise since we were witnessing God doing His thing! There are a couple of other movies by the same guy, Finger of God and Furious Love, both of which I want to see as well. Thanks to my friend, Cammie for the movie recommendation!

~STELR

New 52 | Week 3 | Newborn Photo Session

Okay, so. Ice skating has been held off again! Still on the list but...the weather was still pretty yucky and some other things were on the calendar. I'm learning that with this project, as with life itself, we gotta just go with the flow sometimes!

Since I really have no idea who ends up reading this (although I know it's more than just my mom by the blog stats!) I'll give a quick background for context. Trevor and I started a photography business last year. We discovered a common interest and ran with it! So in July 2012, we founded tandem51 photography.

In the first several months, we did a lot of sessions, mostly families. We also did a couple of seniors, a 1st birthday party, a large charity event, and lots of pics at home. One genre that had eluded us was the newborn. A beautiful new life with their tiny fingers and toes, cute as a button ears and nose, the sweetest little lips. I wanted to get a baby in front of the camera! But...no dice.

That is, until Henry came along.

We photographed the Wolfgang family back in November. It was a combination family session, 2 year pics, and a few maternity shots mixed in as well since mom (also Sarah) was due in January. So you can imagine my excitement when Sarah let me know that they wanted to use us when their new addition joined the world!

While we waited to hear of the baby's arrival, we prepped our gear and read up on newborn photography safety. And then she emailed me; it's a boy! (They didn't know the gender beforehand.) We headed to their house on a bright Saturday morning. I was full of excitement and nerves!!

I'm bummed we didn't get a behind the scenes pic because it was pretty cool. Backdrop, softbox on a stand, reflector, and a bean bag. All of this was crammed into his adorable nursery that was flooded with beautiful morning light.

And this is the result:



So, so sweet.

This was an awesome new experience!

~STELR