as she thinketh

LAST DAY TO ENTER THE CONTEST!

2012-01-28T13:49:00.002-07:00

Please remember that today is the last day to enter the contest to win free wedding day coverage!

I need all stories before midnight tonight! I will not be accepting any more after that deadline.

This has been such a fun contest for me!

Reading everyone's stories have been a blast.

I will chose finalists and notify everyone in the next couple of days.

Please watch your email in case I need more information from you before posting them on the blog.

Thanks again for participating!

Stay tuned for the finalists!

oh, looky there! a contest!

2012-01-18T07:00:00.005-07:00

Today I am announcing a very exciting contest!

I, Jalene Taylor, am giving away

full-day wedding coverage (disc included)

to one very lucky couple!

This is seriously a steal of a deal ($1200 value!)

Full-day wedding coverage!

EXCLAMATION POINT!

Okay, okay, settle down...

So you're probably wondering, "How do I get to be a part of this action?"

Well, are you engaged? Almost engaged? Nearly engaged?

Or maybe someone you know is engaged? Tell them about this! Because seriously...

You want them to win.

If you fall under that category this is how to enter...

Email me (jalenetaylor @ gmail... subject line-Wedding Giveaway!):

1. Location & date of your wedding

2. A photo of you and your fiance

3. Your love story (how you met)

I ask for your date and location because if your date conflicts with another wedding I have booked, I won't be able to include you in the contest. Let's cross our fingers that DOESN'T happen!

And as a side note: I would absolutely love to travel, but travel costs are not included in the giveaway. Let me know if you have questions about travel costs.

So here's how it works...

Submit your stories now through January 28. That gives you a week and a half!

Lincoln and I will pick finalists.

I will then post one story (& the photo you provide) on my blog.

So make sure it's a good, well-written story (and truthful) because that's what people will be voting on!

Once all stories have been posted, I will open voting for a week and a half.

This is how you, your family, and friends can vote:

1. Comment on the blog post on my photography blog

2. Like the post on my Facebook photography page

3. Comment on the post on my Facebook photography page

4. Share the post from my Facebook photography page to yours

That is FOUR ways to vote! Yes, that means each person can vote FOUR times!

Important note: You, your family, and friends will need to "like" my page in order to vote through Facebook.

And of course, the rules:

1. The couple cannot be under contract with another photographer (or myself).

2. Spread the word! The votes are strictly from your friends, family, and associates!

This is something I've been wanting to do for a long time!

I hope a lot of people will participate, so start talking to all those betrothed people you know.

I hope everything is clear on how to enter and vote. Please let me know if I can provide clarification.

Okay, are you ready?

GO!

Oh, and if you feel so inclined, you can share this contest ad on your blog and link back to my photography site if you want to help spread the word.

I sure would appreciate it!

Thanks!

embed the image with this link: http://jtaylorphotography.com/2012/01/oh-looky-there-a-contest.html

snow

2012-01-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

the wind and snow got the best of lincoln today:

read.

2012-01-13T13:15:00.002-07:00

click on over to my photography blog today and read the story of how i became a photographer:

3 facts about us.

2012-01-11T19:56:00.000-07:00

this evening, after the sun had gone down, i realized i hadn't gone out to the mailbox yet to retrieve the mail. since lincoln was in his underthings, i asked him, "will you watch for me at the door while i get the mail in case i get eaten by a cougar?" legitimate fear we have in our neighborhood... he then said, "what do you suppose i do if you are eaten by a cougar?" "call 911, of course."

quality conversations around these parts, i tell you.

i retrieved the mail that wasn't even for us, and was not eaten by a cougar. hallelujah!

..................................................................

i rely on lincoln to do all random math for me in his head. you know, when you are trying to figure something out for some odd reason. i, for some unexplainable reason, cannot do math in my head. ironic because i liked math growing up. lincoln and math are not friends. (he is secretly good at when he wants to be, trust me.)

..................................................................

i am so happy the nba is back in our lives. i love the utah jazz. and i especially love paul millsap. i just do, okay?
and this also reminds me, meta worldpeace is about the stupidest name i've ever heard. if i were an nba announcer, i would refuse to call him that.

..................................................................

that is all.

good day.

oh, thanks for all the blog lovin'. you guys are the best!

merry christmas & happy new year!

2012-01-09T19:33:00.000-07:00

i could sit here at talk about how i haven't blogged in 40 days but that would be completely boring and not worth your time.

it's been a while, eh?

and somehow i've gained more followers on my hiatus. which is odd, because i tend to lose followers when i blog. so we will see how this goes.

i'm not even sure if anyone even reads this blog anymore except my mom.

hi, mom!

but just in case, i will still update you on our mundane life.

it seems like everyone in the blogging world, and everyone in our circle of friends has announced within the last month that they are expecting a baby! while this is super exciting and happy, it sure makes our life seem rather dull. the pressure is also on like donkey kong! for real, peeps. lincoln is even more baby hungry than before. i guess he likes to keep up with the joneses.

serious baby boom coming next summer. maybe there is something in the water?

so everyone has super exciting things to blog about, like babies. and all we have over here is work and school and eating and sleeping. so naturally, there are much more exciting things going on other than here.

but just in case you're still reading, i'll tell you about something else!

so basically for the last... 4 months i have been burning my candle at both ends,

working my little tail-feather off,

balancing two full-time jobs.

and it has been HARD!

needless to say, i've been busy.

working full-time at a day job and running my photography business during every spare second of the day. i've been extremely blessed to work with some fabulous clients during the fall. it has been such a joy to have so much photography business to keep me sane.

at the same time, it was killing me to wake up and go to my day job. i worked there for four long years, all throughout college. i felt like i had reached my potential there and spending 40 hours there a week was making me miserable. miserable!!!

again, i was so fortunate having so much photography business the 2nd half of the year, that i felt like it was a good time to pursue photography full-time. this decision had been eating at me for months. it was probably one of the hardest decisions i've ever had to make. leaving something secure and familiar is extremely frightening. but finally getting to pursue my dream career is extremely exhilarating!

some people did not agree with or support my decision, but after prayerfully considering it, my last day was thursday. it was a bitter sweet goodbye. i have made so many friends during my four years there and change isn't always easy.

but again, i am so excited and relieved to finally be pursuing my photography business full-time. i have to thank all my fabulous blog friends who have trusted me as their photographer and helped me progress on this road. i strongly feel like my quality of life will increase and i will be a much happier, pleasant person. (good news for lincoln!) i have so many plans and ideas for my business that i am so excited to implement. i'm looking forward to not working myself to death.

so there is my life. it's been a super stressful but exciting thing for me.

it's not a baby! but that will come with time.

hopefully i will visit this blog more often now :)

give me some comment love to let me know you're still reading!

lindsay & james

2011-11-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

please check out my beautiful friend, Lindsay, and her brand new husband, James, over on my photo blog today!

(click on the photo)

thanksgiving in okc.

2011-11-28T22:16:00.000-07:00

we spent thanksgiving with the taylor fam in oklahoma city.

it was a short, but sweet trip.

for some reason i came home without a family picture and without a single picture of lincoln and me.

say wha?

i know. crazy.

anyway, here are some photos i did take.

most are of my sweet little nephew, beck.

i just love that little guy.

we arrived late wednesday night, so we didn't get to see beck until thursday morning.

my favorite moment of the whole trip was when he saw us in the hallway and we said, "hi beck!"

and he looked at us, pointed, and said, "ooooohhhh!"

so cute!

we began the morning with a turkey bowl tradition (with the missionaries).

sister missionary totally schooling the elders.

my fabulous mother in law, who ended up fracturing her finger in this game... oops!

team shot:

the cute family we miss so much:

(expecting numero dos boy)

then eating time!

and then some cute pictures of beck i couldn't resist posting:

counting the christmas ornaments

"two, two, two, two"

don't tell grandma!

hope all your thanksgivings were lovely!

little beck

2011-11-27T15:53:00.000-07:00

i haven't seen this little guy since the end of august.

it was fun to shower him with kisses and hugs this last week.

tell me he is just the cutest little kid you've ever seen.

i can't get enough.

more thanksgiving to come...

us

2011-11-19T15:14:00.002-07:00

a super exciting update about us.

2011-11-07T20:25:00.000-07:00

well, hello world.

is anyone even still out there?

i decided i should blog so the first picture that shows up isn't that terribly scary picture of me on halloween.

i feel bad that this little blog has been so neglected as of late.

there just hasn't been that many exciting things going on in our little family of three.

(me, linc, and midge.)

i just didn't think anyone would want to hear about how we just school, work, eat, and sleep all the day every day?

really. it's SO exciting.

we miss our taylor fam always.

16 days until we can be together and eat some turkey.

i also have found a new obsession with edamame. (thanks, leah!)

i seriously can't stop eating them.

at least it's not potato chips, right?

let's hope there isn't some rare disease you can get from consuming too much edamame.

that husband of mine keeps me smiling and laughing even when decisions about life, jobs, and money are hard.

he studies his brains out all week.

i didn't even know one person could study so much?

he's so dedicated and diligent.

midge is as adhd as ever.

the other day lincoln said to me, "midge is really fun, but i really hope our kids aren't as adhd as her."

she wears us out.

i wonder if she'll ever mellow out?

or if she'll always run around the house at full speed for no apparent reason?

she's seriously the most insane cat ever.

but we love her oodles.

i'm flying to michigan this weekend to photograph one of my best friend's wedding.

i am so happy for her!

i get all teary eyed because of all the happiness i feel for her and her james.

anyway, that's all about i can think of now.

if you really care to know what happens every day,

you can follow my twitter

and/or

my instagram (username: jalenetaylor).

thanks.

bu-bye.

halloween!

2011-10-31T22:51:00.000-06:00

we celebrated halloween on saturday with friends.

the gibsons threw THE best halloween party ever.

it was so much fun.

linc and i didn't want to spend money on halloween costumes so we kind of came up with things last minute.

me: creepy zombie.

linc: michael jordan.

i'm not going to lie, being a zombie is kind of fun... but i also am very scared of these photos of me.

yikes!

see what i mean?

the lovely dinner table:

the clan:

(and the creeper in the corner)

the polar bear and tiger:

(hilarious!)

michael jordan and the zombie:

the progressive lady and mayhem:

the other zombies:

it always great to be with these people.

we just love them!

lincoln's idea... (we got last place)

happy halloween!

become a fan!

2011-10-27T21:23:00.000-06:00

hey, friends!

i'm holding a very exciting (& fun) giveaway soon on my photography fan page!

i want all of you to be able to participate, so please go "like" my page.

click on the picture and it will take you there!

photos by heather nan.

2011-10-25T21:31:00.000-06:00

good friend and fellow photographer, heather nan, took photos of me and the husband last week.

i absolutely LOVE them!

i'm so happy we have these.

ensenada

2011-10-11T20:57:00.000-06:00

lincoln and i just got back from a little columbus day weekend getaway.

the journey started out very interesting... to say the least.

we arrived at the airport that morning... checked in...

walked to our gate and sat down.

after about a minute i looked up and noticed that the flight at the gate was definitely not our flight.

thinking they had changed our gate, we walked up to the counter...

the rep typed and gazed at her computer and seemed to be confused.

then she hands up back our ticket:

"your flight is for 10:02 PM not AM."

(shear panic sets in)

we needed to catch a cruise ship in LA by 5:00 PM.

long story short, we got put on the next flight out, but they told us they couldn't guarantee our bags would get on the same flight as us.

more shear panic.

neither of us had ANY clothes in our carry-on.

luckily in about a half hour we asked another rep to check and our bags indeed got on our flight.
whew.

p.s. this was on my birthday and i thought it might be the worst birthday ever before we figured everything out.

we boarded the ship and had a great three day cruise down to ensenada.

handsome husband:

birthday singing:

boat:

toes:

sand:

jumping:

if you ever go to rosarito, you must go to el nido.
yummy.

this nice woman made us the best soft tortillas i've ever tasted in her wood burning stove:

michael jordan wannabe:

stingray:

lots and lots of water:

coastal drive:

formal night:

and the towel animals, of course:

we decided to spend an extra day in california.
got of the ship, rented a car, and drove ourselves here:

it was my first time, and i'd have to say it was probably my most favorite thing we did the whole weekend.

most insane roller coasters i've ever been on.
i was so scared, but had the most fun ever.

then our trip got interesting again...

we drove back toward LAX and checked into our hotel.
big mistake...
we should've just never showed up.

our hotel was in inglewood... big mistake.
and it was SOOOOO sketchy.
like one of those hotels that people get murdered in.

super scary part of town and we felt so unsafe.
we went and got some dinner and met up with some friends of ours.

when they heard our predicament, they told us to come to their apartment and stay.
so nice of them!

we seriously love them forever for that.
here's a picture of tanner & brynne just because i have to show you how cute they are:

stolen shamelessly from brynne's facebook.

even though we lost $57, i'm glad we are still alive.

so basically the beginning and end of our vacation was super interesting...
but the rest was much needed and a super fun time with husband.

happy birthday to both of us in the last week!

sure do love our little family.

fall is upon us.

2011-10-05T19:03:00.000-06:00

photos by husband.

i'm training him well, eh?

we live!

2011-09-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

i guess that (almost) month long hiatus was a much needed break.

i don't know if anyone is still around reading this blog, but just in case you were wondering,

we live!

we all know how much i love moving, and since we just did that again we've kind of been busy unpacking and stuff.

we also decided it would be best if lincoln quit his job and just focused on school.

so i've been doing the bread winning around here, which means regular job + photographing every spare second.

we have also kind of maybe thought about lincoln changing career choices.

which is really scary but also may be really good for us.

lots of changes and lots of busy-ness but we are happy as clams.

both of our birthdays are coming up and we are also going on a little cruise (which sails on my birthday!!)

lincoln is also begging me for:

a) another kitten

b) a puppy

c) a baby

that guy...

anyway... in case you forgot what we look like...

i made lincoln let me take pictures of him today in his church outfit cause i liked it so much:

and then there's me:

p.s. my mom made this skirt for herself in the 60s from a vogue pattern.

i love it.

and we can't forget little midger.

we love her and think this picture is hilarious.

and that's our happy family.

model needed!

2011-09-19T21:27:00.000-06:00

i know i haven't been around for a while,

but i'm looking for a model for THIS WEDNESDAY, September 21 for a mentoring session i'm conducting.

previous plans didn't work out, so i apologize this is last minute.

i would need you for about 1.5-2 hours between the hours of 4:30-7:30 (i won't need you for the full block.).

i am looking for someone that is very comfortable in front of the camera and has some great style they can bring!

preferred:

female in her 20s

willing to travel to the salt lake city area

PLEASE EMAIL ME ASAP with a current photo of yourself.

jalenetaylor@gmail.com

photos for payment.

plus, if you have any interest in photography, this is a great opportunity to learn while modeling!

thank you!

heartbreak.

2011-08-31T21:59:00.000-06:00

gosh, where do i start?

we had to do something terribly sad today.

something i hope i never have to do again.

remember how lincoln's family lives in oklahoma?

well, we have been taking care of their cat, allie, while they are gone.

yesterday we went over to their house to check on allie, but we couldn't find her.

she's an outside cat and sometimes is off hunting.

so we went back today to check on her...

lincoln found her in the garage laying there moaning.

he called me in a panic.

luckily, i was just getting off work when this happened, so i called the vet, ran and got lincoln, and we took her right in.

she couldn't walk and we were terrified.

i thought she may have gotten hit by the car.

luckily our vet is a good family friend and he was right there when we arrived.

he examined her and thought maybe she had a back injury and that's why she wasn't walking,

so they did an x-ray.

nothing,

structurally she was fine.

so he did a blood test...

he came back and said he's never seen a blood test like her's and said it was completely full of white blood cells.

leukemia.

heart break.

basically, we could treat her and make her comfortable for a while longer.

or let her go.

she was getting old and the decision was made to let her go.

keep in mind, lincoln and i are the only ones in our family left here in utah.

allie is 13 years old.

same as rusty.

in a matter of three hours, we found out she had leukemia and said our final goodbyes.

we are so terribly sad.

it's absolutely devastating to lose a pet.

lots of tears and swollen eyes over here today.

she was such a sweet little lady.

we sat with her for the last half hour of her life, petted her and kissed her head.

and we were there when she passed.

we buried her in the backyard and marked her grave.

love her.

and she will be deeply missed by our family.

flash mob.

2011-08-28T22:45:00.000-06:00

a few saturdays ago, lincoln and i were in a flash mob!

bucket list--check!

it was so dang fun.

i kind of had to drag lincoln along to the rehearsals, but he ended up loving it!

it was so fun to do together.

although, small in size compared to some flash mobs, we still felt pretty cool.

i haven't been able to find the best videos of it, but see if you can spot us for the two seconds we got on camera.

have you ever been or wanted to be in a flash mob?

alpine slide.

2011-08-22T22:13:00.000-06:00

watching this adorable video, reminded me that i didn't blog about our alpine slide adventure!

a few weeks ago, lincoln and i had the same day off work

(which NEVER happens)

so we decided to visit park city and ride the alpine slide since i had never been.

also, i haven't taken pictures with a point and shoot camera for a while.

blegh!

husband dragging sleds while i take photos.

so here's the story.

fact: i have no arm strength.

and you kind of have to push pretty hard on that lever to go fast down the hill.

lincoln snapped a few pictures and then zipped down the hill.

so there i am, plugging along down the slide.

and i'm kind of kicking myself for not videoing the ride, because all of a sudden...

a GIANT squirrel suddenly popped out next to my slide and made a move like he was going to jump right on my track right in front of me.

keep in mind that there are people straight above me riding the ski lift up the mountain.

i screamed so loud.

and then spent the rest of the ride laughing my head off.

i wish lincoln hadn't kicked my trash and could've been there.

so funny.

anyway, the alpine slide is fun.

if you come to utah, you should go!

oklahoma!

2011-08-22T13:29:00.000-06:00

today i bring you a documentary of our trip to oklahoma last week.

it was so wonderful to spend time with our family and relax.

i also took a lot of photos of beck and not so much of anyone else...

so basically these are just really cute photos of beck in oklahoma. :)

the first day we got there, the weather decided to give us a break from the heat.

we went shopping at a new outlet mall and i found some black skinny jeans i've been searching for forever for $23 at the gap outlet. score!

lincoln also bought another pair of basketball shoes which he somehow convinced me he needed.

we stopped for lunch and i snapped a few photos of this adorable guy:

we also did a lot of swimming in the neighbor's backyard:

and then we attempted a family photo in the backyard one evening.

i swear i was slowly melting.

bangs plastered to sweaty forehead.
lovely.

so insanely hot!

somewhat of a refuge in the shade.

the couples:

the best in laws in the world:

little bros:

and then they boys did a lot of this...
what they do best...
watching sports:

we had some really hilarious rounds of charades and pictionary:

and one of the highlights of the whole week was visiting the oklahoma city bombing memorial.

i was fairly young when this happened and i learned a lot i didn't know as a 7 year old little girl.

this gorgeous tree survived the bombing.
it has great significance in the memorial.

it was an eye opening experience for me to visit the memorial and also a very somber one.

we love our family dearly...

it is crazy to think every single one of us is going to be in a different part of the country/world starting this week.

mom, dad, preston and quinn in okc.
leah, chase, and beck in kansas city.
sister abigial serving in chile.

and lincoln and i here in utah.

near or far, we are happy to know that our family is eternal.

some more fun pictures soon,
news about our weekend,

and some big changes in our lives.

and thanks to leah for snapping the photos of lincoln and me. :)

bikes.

2011-08-18T22:05:00.000-06:00

a few weeks ago, lincoln and i decided to purchase bicycles!

we thought it would be fun to ride around the neighborhood together

and a perfect way to enjoy the wonderful summer we have in utah.

we researched a few places and finally found some that were reasonable

and ones we loved!

we purchased them from citizen bikes.

we've only been able to take them out a few times, but we love them!

the best part is, they are folding bikes!

we can fold them up in about 20 seconds and put them in the trunk and go!

i have named mine "daphine":

lincoln said his is named "rock"... but i don't think that's a very good bike name, so maybe i'll have him re-think that...

and some day lincoln will be better at taking pictures of me actually riding my bike. :)

us.

2011-08-18T07:45:00.000-06:00

we are home.

and we had a wonderful relaxing week.

one picture for now.

hello, august

2011-08-10T21:40:00.000-06:00

sorry about the unexpected break.

i guess i just needed a little vacation and time to catch up on things.

i've been busy photographing weddings, and babies, and brothers and friends and sisters

AND working 40 hours a week.

needless to say, there hasn't been time for blogging.

tomorrow morning we are headed to oklahoma city to see our family!!!!

so excited to give my inlaws a big giant hug

and veg out for a week

and not think about anything!

i may not be blogging much,

but will probably be tweeting our little vacation.

so follow me here.

also, i might melt there.

me and humidity do not mix.

"ok-lahoma where the wind comes blowing down the lane..."

name the sitcom and character who sings that and i'll give you a gold star!

2011-08-01T22:41:00.000-06:00

it amazes me how fast life can pass you by.

how easy it is to get caught up in the mundane and go months without truly living your life.

funny how routine can be extremely detrimental to someone's happiness.

but yet we are so scared of change or trying new things.

yes, change is scary, but it helps us grow.

and i don't know if i've ever met a single person that didn't learn something from change.

all we do is work work work.

and i feel sad that this is what defines our life right now.

(our kids will think we are so boring.)

but is this what all young married 20-somethings are doing?

working?

how do you truly live you life and do all those other things at the same time?

i want to know.

i want to feel again.

baby girl.

2011-07-30T13:47:00.000-06:00

kitty.

she has my eyes.

saying goodbye is becoming a habit.

2011-07-29T00:00:00.002-06:00

hosting a going away party for our friends tonight.

he was accepted to pharmacy school in oregon.

going to miss this couple and their adorable little girl.

last october maci offered me some leaves.

seriously going to miss them.

flying cat.

2011-07-26T23:12:00.002-06:00

please watch this video of my flying cat.

but don't get bored in the middle. i tried to cut it, but it didn't work.

she's just getting ready for her biggest jump of all!

you won't want to miss it.

also, don't make fun of my husband's socks. i know he's dorky! :)

also, you can stop watching when my mom starts talking about deer in our backyard.

it's not very interesting after that.

unless you like listening to people talk about deer in their backyards.

also, isn't midge so funny?!

now, just imagine her jumping like that at your ankles when you walk down the hallway.

welcome to my life.

also, please spot the planking stuffed animal cat in the background.

bitter-sweet.

2011-07-24T22:45:00.000-06:00

we've had quite the weekend, to say the least.

if you've been around here on this blog for a while, you have probably seen quite a few photos of these beautiful people:

and in case you're lost... this is lincoln's older brother, chase, his wife, leah, and their little boy, beck.

some people may wonder if beck is actually our child since i have so many pictures of him on this blog, but nope, he's just our favorite little nephew.

they are also our favorite people ever to hang out with and we have been lucky to live about 13 minutes away from them for a year.

since the rest of the taylor family is living in oklahoma, or serving a mission in Chile, they have been the only taylor family we've had close by for the past year.

thursday, lincoln called me at work telling me chase had been offered a job in kansas city, kansas.

they weren't completely 100% sure on accepting the offer yet, so we waited.

by friday morning, it was decided that this was the best for thing for their family and chase would be starting his new position tuesday morning.

it would be an understatement if i were to say we were just a little bit emotional about all of this.

we all shed many tears this weekend, and i can't even begin to tell you how much we will miss them.

lincoln and i are now feeling kind of left in the dust here in utah...

but the best part is, we know that it's not permanent and we will all be together again.

friday, we had the pleasure of spending all day together as a family.

i second shot a beautiful wedding saturday up at deer valley.

and then came home and we all had a sleepover in the living room like siblings do.

and then we spent all day sunday together, attending church and eating great food.

and then some pick up ball in the driveway:

"hey, guys! i'm open down here!"

we will sure miss this little man:

we are grateful to have spent the last year with them around.

they have literally become our best friends.

i look up to leah so much. i hope i can be the kind of mother she is to beck.

she is so talented in so many ways and everyone loves her.

chase is an amazing father and such a good provider for his little family.

i know lincoln has always admired his big brother and cherished all the crazy brother memories they've had together.

so basically what i'm saying is...

we are now recruiting anyone who wants to be our new best friends, and if you have an adorable 16 month old, you get extra points! ;)

and if there is any kansas city readers out there, let me know what we need to know about kansas city!

to top off the weekend, sunday was midge's birthday!

my little baby kitten is 1 years old!

i sure do love her, even though she's so ADHD she won't even let you hold her for one second.

(seriously the most spaz-iest cat in the world.)

let's hope our human babies aren't as spastic as her.

happy birthday, baby girl!

and the next few photos are for my mother-in-law in OKC.

midge's long lost cousin, allie:

beck LOVES cats!

"hi, family. meow."

and a picture of your beautiful flowers:

miss you guys, lots!

and i think you should reconsider letting us keep preston and quinn here in utah.

PLEASE?!

now that chase, leah, and beck are leaving, please wish us luck on continually, even more, boring life.

fam.

2011-07-21T22:46:00.000-06:00

today i just want to say how much i love my taylor family:

so blessed to be married into this wonderful family.

sometimes i shoot other things besides people.

2011-07-18T20:52:00.001-06:00

shout out to all my blog readers who have hired me to photograph them.

seriously, peeps...

you are gems!!!

i could not do what i love to do without you and your support.

pssst...

keep 'em coming. ;)

photography site here.

presto & quinnfield.

2011-07-14T00:00:00.003-06:00

my two little brothers (in-law)... (i just like saying i have "little" brothers.)

are coming today!!!!!!!!!!!

and staying for almost a whole month!

i'm soooo excited!

i have missed them dearly.

we haven't been with them since december and have lots of fun summery things planned to do while they are here.

yay, yay, yay!!!

this is your life.

2011-07-12T00:06:00.000-06:00

today i was telling a friend how i can't be a good wife, a good employee, a good photographer, a good blogger, a good sister, a good housekeeper, a good cook, and a good friend all at the same time.

can anyone really do that?

if you can, will you please come over here and tell me how to be so organized to be able to be good at all those things?

or tell me that that kind of organizational talent is born inside you, and i have no hope for the rest of my life?

i could always wish for more hours in the day, but i hear loads of people have already tried that.

so i wish my body could survive on less sleep, because then i might be able to be good at all those things.

but my body is screaming, "no no no!"

it needs sleep.

oh, sleep.

i love sleeping.

and then, as i'm so absorbed in all this self-reflection,

something happens.

as it always does.

that makes me rethink my priorities.

terrible. sad things.

happening to people i love and care about.

my blood-related.

which made me sit and think for a while tonight about choices...

and how they affect others

and how important it is to make good choices in life.

and then all of sudden, those things don't seem that big of deal anymore.

like always.

why do i always forget?

i found this tonight on the interweb.

not sure of the source, but it was very fitting.

IMHO

2011-07-06T22:19:00.000-06:00

in my opinion...

couches should always have tall backs.

who wants to sit on a short-backed couch?

these migraines i get which cause me lose half my vision are not fun.

it makes reading hard.

i like twitter.

follow me.

my kitty is so funny.

she is so obsessed with playing outside that she learned how to open a screen door by herself

and escaped.

lincoln would not know the first thing about keeping our accounts in order.

it's a good thing i like being the banker.

mornings are my worst enemy.

sometimes life is too busy.

and i feel like i'm missing the little moments because my schedule is so booked.

but it's kind of what you have to do when you're 20-something and putting the hubs through school, right?

plus, i'm the kind of person who needs to be busy.

i get bored so easily.

anyway, does anyone know how to be good at life?

because there is always so much to do, and so little time.

well, that's all folks.

IMHO.

july has arrived.

2011-07-04T07:00:00.005-06:00

i hate to bag on july, but i think june is my favorite month of the year.

it was a good month for us and the weather is always lovely...

until next year, june.

july is fun too with all the celebrating we do, but it's already like insanely hot.

i believe i sweated more than normal this weekend.

first, i photographed this lovely couple's wedding:

and in between the temple and reception i finally caved and we made a trip to the apple store.

i guess you could say my trustworthy first generation iPhone was pretty close to kicking the bucket...

it lasted a good 3 years and 3 months though!

but i got sick of it dying 3 times a day and not being able to update the software and the pixels were slowly disappearing.

and since lincoln's iPhone has looked like this since february:

we figured it was time.

and we are happy with our purchases.

so beautiful:

while we were at the apple store we ran into kera!

blog world meets real world!

and yes, she is really that beautiful.

another blog meeting this week...

i photographed this awesome couple and it was so fun.

what a week!

2011-06-29T21:16:00.000-06:00

what a week...

what a week!

is it seriously almost july??!

my mind keeps thinking it's spring still.

so let's talk about this week:

kick ball.

apparently my body is telling me i should probably exercise once in a while because i can't even play kickball without my legs feeling like death for the next day 3 days.

seriously.

it's the kind of sore where you avoid going to the bathroom as long as possible because the half way point between standing and sitting on the porceiln thrown is torture beyond belief.

and you also find yourself lifting your legs in/out of bed, in/out of cross legged position all with your arms.

i also recently jumped on a bunch of trampolines. and i don't remember it being that hard.

why is 23 feeling so old already?

also, i got to work one day and a few hours later the landscapers came inside to tell me my back tire was flat.

joy.

good thing my mom remembered i have hyundai roadside assistance with my warranty.

saved my life.

driving home on a spare: 45 min commute. yuck.

normal commute with normal tire: 20 min

turned out to be a nail which only cost me $12 to fix.

did i mention we just bought FOUR new tires for lincoln's car like 3 weeks ago?

i wasn't too excited at the idea of having to buy ANOTHER tire.

my little nephew left to serve a 2 year lds mission wednesday.

i cried a lot.

love that kid and so proud of him.

he is headed to Louisiana Baton Rouge!

in the past year i've said goodbye to 4 missionaries in my family.

it doesn't get any easier, let me tell you.

i've been really excited about photography lately!

i'm always excited about it, but lately i've been ultra excited about it.

i have some amazing shoots lined up for the next little while and i'm in heaven.

here's my gorgeous co-worker friend, lauren:

beautiful yes?

also, lincoln keeps meeting all these famous people at work which is kind of cool.

nba players, rappers, ben stein, ty from extreme home makeover, and best of all:

brian regan.

totally cool.

and some more nephew pictures:

marshall and his beautiful eyelashes eating pink cake:

and beck mid-word "ball" (his favorite word) throwing mini basketball at camera:

life is great, eh?

something new.

2011-06-27T00:04:00.000-06:00

i did something new as a photographer...

and that was photograph a birth story.

even though these are super trendy now days,

i don't mind jumping on this bandwagon, because i find these experiences truly incredible.

i think photos from birth stories can be some of the most beautiful photographs i've ever seen.

i photographed my (kind of) first birth story about a month ago.

you can see the photos here.

and also view some more of my recent work

here

and here.

let me know what you think!

our wedding: featured!!

2011-06-24T00:05:00.002-06:00

dudes... our wedding was featured on

utah bride blog

yesterday!!!

holy, how cool is that??!

check it out here.

summer.

2011-06-21T22:15:00.001-06:00

i'm so in love with summer right now that it's distracting me from doing anything else.

i realized the other day that this is the first summer in a really long time that i haven't had school.

i always thought summer semester was just fine, but now i'm feeling bad for those in school right now... ahem.. husband. :(

the temperature has finally gotten high enough to stop wearing sweaters outside and just that one tiny thing feels my heart with the most joy!

i'm just someone who needs warmth... i do NOT do well in winters.

we've been:

driving around the town with the windows rolled down blasting tunes

getting delicious snow cones

going to baseball games

playing at parks

chasing midge around the yard

playing frolf

bbq-ing

and other wonderful summer stuff.

tonight i had the opportunity to meet up with some fellow photogs and hang out for a while.

i feel like i've come a long way with my photography in the last year and i'm so excited for what's to come.

it is my absolute passion! i think it about it ALL the time.

and summer makes photography even more amazing because my face and hands don't freeze and fall off.

here's a few from tonight... i shot with a film camera for a while and obviously those aren't developed yet, so there's just a few digitals:

what's your favorite thing about summer?

hello, friends.

2011-06-14T23:20:00.000-06:00

well, i've been working about 6 days a week as of late.

and so has lincoln.

i can't even remember the last time we sat down together and ate a meal.

5 days a week, i've been working my day job and then filling in photo shoots here and there on saturdays and after work.

sadly i wish it was the other way around... more shooting and less day job-ing.

so, hire me? :)

here are some highlights of some shoots from last week.

i love love couples and weddings.

so so much!

our little adventure.

2011-06-13T00:02:00.004-06:00

for a few weeks i've been driving past this hill that is covered in yellow flowers.

at first i thought they were dandelions, but upon further investigation, it seems they are some type of sunflower.

i gathered my permanent models (family) and declared a photo shoot.

chase, leah, and beck:

i actually kind of like this "accidental" shot by leah...

even though i look pregnant... which i'm not.

"hi, beck!"

my favorites of the day:

aren't they a beautiful couple:

beck loves his uncle lincoln:

we also took a few with my new fujifilm instant camera that lincoln bought me for our anniversary!

love it!

i love packages tied up with string.

2011-06-09T22:19:00.000-06:00

so it was a long day of work.

and then some time spent with some family of mine i haven't seen in weeks!

and some sytycd.

and then some scouting for locations to shoot tomorrow.

i found perfection by the way.

it's going to be sahweet!!!

and after all of that lovely stuff i came home to find a package in the mail for me.

from my lovely blog friend erin.

i photographed the beautiful erin and her beautiful sister, anna, last summer.

and now we are OFFICIAL blog friends.

well, let me tell you a little secret:

erin is like freakishly talented.

and the package in the mail was these beauties:

yes, i know, i should have photographed these in better light, but i couldn't wait to show you!

when i approached erin about drawing my wedding dress, i couldn't decide which one (my mom's or my own) to have her illustrate, so i did both!

i am seriously stunned. they are absolutely beautiful!

and she wrote me the nicest note (with possibly the most beautiful handwriting ever too).

so i think you should probably reap from her talents and have her draw your dress too.

so i mentioned she was talented right?

if you're looking for a florist, she is a very talented one.

i'm thinking her and i need to collaborate in the wedding industry? yeah?

speaking of weddings...

did you all see the photo on my photography blog yesterday?

if not, you must hop over there are swoon with me.

happy happy weekend!

happy anniversary weekend.

2011-06-07T14:19:00.001-06:00

our original plan was to go to disneyland, but with lincoln's summer school schedule that wasn't going to work.

so then we thought about staying in park city for a couple nights, but then lincoln got hired with grand america hotel about a month ago so we decided to use his sweet discount and stay there instead!

even though we were 20 minutes from home, it was still fun to "get away."

we thought and talked a lot this weekend about our first year of marriage and how it is completely crazy that our wedding day was a year ago.

i know it's so cliche to say this, but that day was seriously the best day of our lives.

we rewatched our wedding video and remembered just how fun that day was for us, our families, and our friends.

everything was perfect. i can't even remember one thing that went wrong.

it was a joy to celebrate that this weekend.

we relaxed and ate a LOT of good food.

the perfect recipe in my opinion.

mostly that husband of mine is the most fun person ever to hang out with.

i especially enjoy listening to him sing along with girls on the radio in the same octave.

here is our weekend:

p.s. this is not beer. just some yummy cream soda. :)

gelato!

and of course, we had to eat at lincoln's favorite restaurant.

discovery: p.f. changs is definitely family style.

we barely got through our appetizers.

he's going to be so mad i posted this, but i couldn't resist. so funny!

and of course we ate some of top tier from our wedding cake.

it was actually still good.

i love funfetti.

i didn't take my camera to the pool, but can i just say lincoln is probably the most entertaining swimmer ever.

i sat poolside laughing my face off. goof ball.

pictures later of the pool with some stranger man inside:

such a fun weekend.

one year down and an eternity to go.

love my man.

oh! i almost forgot. the traditional jumping on the bed photos:

anniversary numero uno.

2011-06-05T22:28:00.000-06:00

our first anniversary was quite a hit.

i haven't uploaded all the photos yet, but here's a preview:

we came home today and spent a little while outside with little midge:

it was perfection outside.

more to come about our weekend and how that husband of mine spoiled me.

self portrait

2011-06-01T23:26:00.000-06:00

i decided it had been a while since i took a self portrait.

so i did today.

and can i just say that i love my husband.

i really really do.

and this weekend we are celebrating our FIRST anniversary!!

can you believe that??!

we had three people tell us tonight how much they enjoyed our wedding reception.

i'm so glad it was memorable.

it was pretty much the most fun day of my life, so...

a play date.

2011-05-30T23:39:00.000-06:00

my computer is ill.

so i'm blogging from the ultra slow MacBook.

it's memory is quite full and doesn't like to do things speedily.

let's all hope i get my computer back soon!

last week i got to hang out with beck for a little while.

he's probably one of my most favorite people to hang out with.

yep, he is.

first, we went to pictureline and i bought a new lens.

beck was so nice and smiled big for me while i tested it out:

then we went home and showcased off beck's new adorable haircut:

all the while playing with balls, of course.

or "baghh" as beck calls them:

penny posed nice and pretty for a few photos as well:

then we made some fake phone calls, because there's only some much you can talk about when the only words you know are "ball" and "uh-oh."

then we played sword fighting with mommy:

whew.... what a fun day! thanks for letting me come play!

a quick hello from midge:

she has found a very warm little place to sleep behind the direct tv receiver.

just stopping by.

2011-05-27T13:52:00.000-06:00

friday!

my last friday off in a LONG time.

and lincoln has to work, so i'll probably just do boring stuff.

more of our family has been affected by the storms.

my mother's cousin (lee allphin) was in the tornado in joplin.

watch their story here.

it is a miracle they survived.

and some of leah's family had terrible damage to their home in atlanta.

the devastation is so sad!

even though there are a lot of sad things happening right now, there are still a lot of happy things.

my childhood friend, justin, and his wife, emily, welcomed their identical twins in the world!

cade is on the left, and cole is on the right.

i had the pleasure to photograph their birth story... well, kind of. she had a c-section, so i photographed them after.

aren't they perfect? i stared at them forever with a smile on my face. you just can't help it!

i hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

oprah's final words and tornados.

2011-05-25T21:35:00.000-06:00

so yes, i watched the final oprah show.

and i may have teared up a little bit.

she's pretty inspiring, no?

k, so i didn't watch all 25 years

(i wasn't even alive for all the shows)

but i can say i learned a few things from her and i admire she's such a giving person.

i really loved what she said on her final show:

"What I knew for sure from this experience with you is that we are all called. Everybody has a calling...It lights you up and it lets you know that you are exactly where you're supposed to be, doing exactly what you're supposed to be doing. And that is what I want for all of you and hope that you will take from this show. To live from the heart of yourself. You have to make a living; I understand that. But you also have to know what sparks the light in you so that you, in your own way, can illuminate the world."

i love that.

and totally believe it.

oprah totally found that and smacked it right on the head, right?

i'm still unsure of what my "calling(s)" might be in this world, but i bet your bottom dollar that i'm going to find it and "live from the heart of myself."

*************************************************************

the storms that have ripped across the great plains have become much more of a reality in our lives.

as you know, my in laws are living in oklahoma city right now with their two youngest boys because they were called to serve as mission presidents of the oklahoma city mission.

all day tuesday they were on a tornado watch.

things were looking good and the storms weren't predicted to be close to where they live.

within a half hour, the storm had changed it's path and the sirens went off.

they were at the stake center with some missionaries and had to take cover in the girl's restroom.

meanwhile, they were texting us updates.

i think at one time, there were four tornados surrounding them, but after about a half hour or so they were safe.

the storm had moved on. and i was so relieved because i really love my family!

k, no more tornados for at least two more years and two months.

while we never felt extremely concerned for their safety, i'll admit it was a tense half hour.

they were most definitely watched over and protected by our heavenly father, which i am so grateful.

the devastation has been heartbreaking. my heart aches for those families.

and if you haven't seen these before and after pictures

you must do so now.

please pray for these people.

i will be.

BAM designs.

2011-05-23T07:00:00.002-06:00

meet my friend, brady:

photo by me.

brady is my friend from high school.

and he is like EXTREMELY talented in like five hundred ways.

really, he's just one of those people.

you see, a few months ago we did a swap.

i took pictures of him and his designs because he was applying for an internship.

and he totally got a sweet one in LA.

yay, brady!

so in turn for me taking photos, he offered me one of his custom paintings.

(yay!)

and i LOVE mine so much, that i decided i need to promote this talented guy on my blog.

here is the one he made for me:

"chubby bird" in acrylic

oh gosh! it is just perfect in our room. i LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

brady is so cool that he's offering a 10% discount on all custom pieces to everyone who mentions "as she thinketh" when you place your order.

and this is good until the end of the year!!

so you have a whole 7 months to jump on that deal, friends.

you can view his other work here on his blog.

or here too.

contact him here: bradymathewsdesigns(at)gmail(dot)com

another one of my absolute favorites is "orange leaves" in acrylic":

i might just have to purchase that one too!

what do you think?

bookshelf

2011-05-18T10:28:00.000-06:00

i've gone all diy on you and decided to paint this bookshelf today.

my first attempt at being crafty... we'll see how it goes.

don't mind all my junk in the background.

we are still unpacking.

and you ask what color?

white.

white, because i love white. and it matches with everything.

if i'm boring you around here, you could hop, skip, and jump over to my photo blog since i've posted some lovelies lately.

be back later, gator!

hello, tuesday.

2011-05-17T13:14:00.000-06:00

rainy tuesday.

is it raining where you are?

it always rains here lately.

and it ALWAYS rains on the days i have photoshoots.

but all the sunny days, i don't have photoshoots.

how mean, huh?

actually, now it is snowing.

yep, snow.

that's REALLY mean.

anyway, what else is there to do on a rainy/snowy morning other than play words with friends with husband.

(i'm totally winning.)

you see, it's the second day of husband's physics class.

i should also mention he started a new job yesterday and didn't get home until 11:15.

anyway, this physics class has homework due every single day, and he didn't get to work on it until 11:15 last night.

we spent a few hours doing the problems, but my brain couldn't go back to 10th grade and remember trigonometry. i told my 10th grade self that i would never need to use trigonometry again. and i was right, except that i would need to use it for husband's physics homework. who knew?

after only getting to problem 6 of 14, we decided it would be a really long semester if we couldn't even do the first assignment.

so he dropped the course and signed up for another one.

and then spent the next hour reworking his entire college career semester by semester.
and making sure to take trig before physics.

school is frustrating. just saying.

so i mentioned he just started a new job.
i also got a new job, but i don't start for a couple weeks.

we just like to do extremely stressful life changing events all at the same time as a big happy family.

moving. two new jobs. school. having a baby.

just kidding. no baby.

but that definitely would be another stressful thing to add into the mix, eh?

well, i'm going to go clean.

happy tuesday!

shutter buddies.

2011-05-11T20:34:00.000-06:00

happy thursday, friends.

today i'm doing something a little out of the usual and reviewing a product for you.

i know, exciting! right?!!

leora contacted me last week and introduced me to her etsy shop,

shutter buddies.

i loved her idea and creativity.

leora makes fun little "buddies" that hook on to your camera lens to help grab the attention of little ones you are photographing.

i think this is a brilliant idea, since i am constantly snapping my fingers or talking in a high-pitched voice to get them to look at the camera.

i love all the fun colors and designs she has come up with.

and the best part is, most of them come with squeakers in them, so photogs... you can save your voice. no more high-pitched baby talk.

not only does she sell the "buddies" in her shop, she sells adorable hats and bracelets.

i love these hats.

monkey:

and koala:

love!

pssst... she makes them for adults too!

she was even so kind to donate a few of the bracelets to our dear friends who lost their baby last week. and they buried a couple with her.

this is what leora said about her shop:

I have my Etsy store to keep me busy while my husband is gone with the Army. He's been gone over 2 months and will be gone at least 5 more. I have three kids. Claire is 4, Randy is almost 2 and Jane is 4 months. Between Etsy and my Littles I stay pretty busy and I like it that way. It makes the time my husband is gone go by much faster. I thought the Shutter Buddies would be a good idea since my own kids won't pay attention for pictures that long. I'm not a photographer myself but like everyone else, have seen thousands of pictures of kids refusing to look in the direction of the camera. Aside from my Shutter Buddies I have a lot of other fun stuff in the store. Next to the Shutter Buddies, the baby bracelets are definitely the most popular. I originally made them so my own little ladies could look extra cute and then discovered they look fantastic as photo props and the pearl ones have been requested several times for weddings. The hats are just something really fun to do and wear. They look cute in pictures too!

i admire her so much!

so go ahead and check out her shop.

AND if you like Shutter Buddies on Facebook, there will be coupons!! wahoo!

oh, the entertainment of photo booth and long hair.

2011-05-10T23:25:00.000-06:00

it's a late.

and i may not be of sound mind for posting this.

but it was funny at the time.

you may think otherwise, but whatev.

i entertained myself while lincoln played frolf on his iPad for HOURS.

okay, maybe not hours. but when your bed abruptly moves every 15 seconds as he "throws" the frisbee, it feels like hours.

pretty much everything you do in real life, can also be played on an iPad.

we went frolfing a few weeks ago.

and now, he plays it on his iPad.

anyway, back to my ridiculous ways of entertainment.

long hair is fun to play with:

first up: 80s crimpy side ponytail.

next: the bun.

third (one of the best): braided bearded jalene.

at this point i turned to lincoln and said, "hunny, do you like my beard?"

this was his reaction:

at least he thinks i'm funny, right?

fourth: i'm a lion hiding in the grass! rawr!

fifth: mustache mayhem.

and that's all i could think of for you on this make-up-less day.

blossoms.

2011-05-10T07:00:00.001-06:00

rain, rain, rain.

raining straight for two whole days.

so i spent the day curled up in my room getting things done and staring out the window at the wet wet world.

mostly i kept staring at this beautiful tree right outside my window.

it only turns this color once a year, and you can't help but stare at it every time you pass it.

it's so beautiful.

my parents also have this beautiful pink tree in their backyard.

i secretly wish trees stayed like this all summer, but i guess green leaves are okay too.

i just love me some color.

eternal families.

2011-05-09T10:43:00.000-06:00

hello, all.

i hope your mother's day weekend was wonderful, mom's and future mom's alike.

lincoln got in trouble by me and his family for not doing anything for me.

*cough* don't forget next year *cough*

but i guess he slightly made up for it by letting me order a vintage pearl necklace last night.

he also gave me a nice elbow in the face in the middle of the night in his sleep.

thanks, husband. haha

we spent this mother's day motherless.

my mom is currently visiting south africa with my dad.

and lincoln's mom is in oklahoma serving as a mission president.

we missed both of our mom's, but we got to skype and email with them.

yesterday was also my dad's birthday.

happy birthday, dad!

and wednesday is lincoln's dad's birthday.

it's a week of celebrating our parents!

we also got to talk to lincoln's beautiful little sister, abby, on saturday.

she is serving a mission in santiago, chile.

it was SO wonderful to hear from her.

she is so happy and can speak spanish beautifully (from the little i know).

***********************************

this weekend we actually spent a great deal mourning with some of our closest friends.

this sweet dear couple gave birth to a still-born at just under 20 weeks.

ever since we heard the news friday evening, my heart has felt broken.

since both of their parents live far far away (and we were parent-less as well), we took them dinner yesterday evening and cried with them.

i can't believe the things they had to experience this week, and how strong they are now.

it made us think a lot about the miracle that is child birth and how we would handle the same situation.

we love this couple dearly, and hate to see them go through such pain.

but we both know they will see their little girl again someday.

and they will be able to hold her and love her and raise her.

we are so grateful to be an eternally family.

if you would be so kind... pray for our friends.

love you all.

a lunch break post.

2011-05-06T14:43:00.001-06:00

i'm home from work on my lunch.

i love living 2 minutes away.

and i'm making midge take pictures with me while i kill time.

can you see that box behind me?

in the right hand corner?

that is my box of socks.

i got all unpacked and realized i don't have a single drawer or single square inch of closet space to put my socks.

so they remain in their box.

do you good organizers out there have any creative ideas of what i can do?

also, i'll honestly point out (so you don't judge us)

where lincoln has decided to hang his towels.

silly boy.

did you know we have a towel rack in the bathroom?

p.s. i like having separate closets. yay!

tuesday is today.

2011-05-03T16:09:00.000-06:00

some photos of our lazy tuesday.

well, we aren't being completely lazy,

but we actually have a day off for once together.

it's wonderful.

midge always finds a place here to sleep.

it's probably the cutest thing ever.

we just love her.

do you like our gray walls?

i'm so totally in love with them.

like i really LOVE them.

the walls aren't complete yet, so a full post with pictures will be coming soon.

here's another preview of the wall above my desk.

the desk is small, but i LOVE it.

my mother painted this for me a few years ago.

it is her old make up table.

isn't it cute?

famous.

2011-05-03T10:04:00.000-06:00

feeling pretty famous today since my face is on utah bride & groom blog today.

haha!

more from the gumball inspired wedding shoot

over here.

p.s. i LOVE my mom's wedding dress.

our weekend.

2011-05-02T09:58:00.002-06:00

this weekend we said goodbye to our first apartment.

as we were cleaning, i got a little sad and teary eyed.

after all, we won't have a "first" apartment ever again.

then we moved the fridge to collect a couple of midge's toys

and found a dead mouse.

remember our unwelcome visitors?

then my sad feelings were gone.

goodbye first apartment.

and goodbye orange carpet.

yes, it was really that bright.

the forest green wallpaper was a great combination, don't you think?

haha.

we had some great memories there, and i will miss it a little.

we also got to hang out with chase, leah, and beck.

we just love them.

pretty soon i'll have pictures of our new room that i'm super excited about.

how was your weekend?

moving.

2011-04-27T13:56:00.002-06:00

moving is hard.

we have been packing, sorting, cleaning, and moving stuff for the past 4 days.

and i decided it's not that fun.

i was fairly confident that we didn't have that much stuff and we could totally fit all of it into our new condensed home {1 bedroom and 1 bathroom, no living area.}

now, i'm not quite sure where it will all go.

but i'm confident we will figure it out.

i kind of have a huge crush with the colors of our walls.

we painted our room gray, and i just think it's so beautiful.

maybe if i ever get around to decorating it...

{it might take me a year...}

i'll post some pictures.

i know there are like a million design blogs out there, but what are your favorites?

i don't follow any.

maybe i can find some inspriation there.

also, we've been trying to figure out our current job situation and health insurance benefits and all that adult stuff.

sometimes being an adult and making decisions is really hard.

sometimes i wish you could just test things out for a while and see how they go,

and then if it doesn't really work, you could go back to what you were doing before.

in other news, you should hop on over to my photoblog

and feast your eyes on this beautiful couple i photographed.

i know i always tell you to go over there, but really this time you should.

i modeled.

2011-04-21T11:07:00.003-06:00

check it out!

it's me!

a few months ago, lyndsey asked me to model for her.

i am not a model, but i said okay anyway! haha

plus, who doesn't want to get their hair and make up done by enizio?

the dress i'm wearing was made by my mother in 1964.

she's kind of amazing, i know.

good thing it fit me like a glove.

it was so fun to wear her wedding dress.

thanks, lyndsey, for letting me be a part of your idea!

a smelly discovery.

2011-04-19T00:01:00.000-06:00

tonight, lincoln exclaimed we have been "underliving."

you see, we were packing up our apartment...

that's right...

packing.

we are moving in less than two weeks (yikes, so much to do)

and we discovered all of this awesome kitchen stuff we have yet to use in our 11 month stay here.

it was like christmas!!

(that's why were are apparently "underliving")

blenders, waffle makers, special spaghetti pots that drain so easily, more strainers, pitchers, plastic cups...

it's funny how little you can survive on, right?

and yet you had all that crap at your disposal anyway.

so yeah...

we are moving.

and we've been painting and prepping our room and it's turned out so beautiful!

i will be showing pictures shortly.

anyway, so we came home from church on sunday and i could smell this very strong odor.

it was very... garlic-y

so i assumed that our landlord had made some kind of meal upstairs...

it was so strong

(well, to me... lincoln couldn't smell it at all... to which he said i'm probably pregnant, not)

i opened up some windows sunday and monday morning to try and get rid of the smell.

it got better, but it still lingered.

as we were packing, i kept complaining about the smell, so i sniffed it out.

it was stronger by the microwave.

lincoln wondered if something had fallen behind it...

you guessed it...

he pulled out a bag of old cut up garlic.

nasty.

don't hate us, okay?

so, does anyone want to come help us sort out all of our stuff??!

bad decision.

2011-04-15T07:00:00.001-06:00

oh, last night.

ohhhhh, last night.

i had been suffering from a horrible headache for 6+ hours

and it was time for bed.

so we left the room to brush our teeth.

i was a few seconds behind lincoln on the way to the bathroom.

i turned the corner and put my hand up to my throbbing head

and

"BOO!"

lincoln was hiding behind the corner waiting to scare me!

little punk.

i gasped. obviously.

followed by, "huuunnnnnyyy!"

and then naturally,

fell to the ground in fetal position and cried.

and don't worry,

he apologized over and over.

and it was all kind of funny too.

ten minutes before this incident...

i accidently punched him in the nose,

and stabbed his ear with my finger nail.

so i guess you could say we are even.

2011-04-14T13:13:00.000-06:00

head on over to my photoblog today to see a maternity shoot i just posted.

also, i finally figured out my feed for that site.

i tried to transfer everyone over with feedburner, but quite frankly... feedburner... isn't awesome.

so please re-subscribe yourself using this address:

http://jtaylorphotography.com/feed

and hopefully that will work.

thanks, friends :)

j. taylor photography special!

2011-04-13T11:12:00.000-06:00

hello, friends.

i announced on my photoblog this morning a GREAT spring special (if i do say so, myself).

head on over here

and check it out.

and to give you a little preview of the deal...

here are the ads.

hop on over to get more details.

referral incentive!

2011-04-11T10:30:00.000-06:00

you may not be getting married, but you might know someone who is...

and that is good news for you because when you're having that conversation about wedding plans you can say, "hey! i totally know a photographer you could use!"

and then if your friend books with me, you land yourself a

to a selected retailer!

that's right, you get something out of this!

and this doesn't only work for wedding referrals...

i'm offering this referral incentive for ANY type of session.

so, please, start talking...

and get yourself some free money.

p.s. my website is really easy to remember:

jtaylorphotography.com

thanks, friends.

a thought.

2011-04-08T00:05:00.000-06:00

you know how people always say the first year of marriage is really hard?

i've never really understood that because my first year (10 months) of marriage has never been hard.

yeah, okay, maybe you disagree and have to learn how work out issues, but we did that when we were dating... what's different about that when you get married?

today, someone asked me somewhat sarcastically, "you still married?"
"of course!" i replied with a laugh. to which that someone replied, "wow! you're even smiling!"

yeah, marriage isn't all unicorns and rainbows all the time. (cause, literally... that would be freaky!)

we disagree about whose turn it is to do those darn dishes or clean midge's litter box. and sometimes when we're tired or irritated those things turn into something bigger than they should.

but at the end of the day we still tell each other sincerely "you're my best friend." and "i love you." and we really mean it.

there is no other person in this world i would rather tackle life challenges with than mr. lincoln. besides, he's like soooo fun to hang out with and really just one of the funniest guys ever.

and if you tickle him or give him wet willies his voice gets all high and he sounds EXACTLY like the ginger bread man on shrek. and that will make you laugh so hard that you won't be able to breathe.

AND he'll say funny things to you in his sleep, which is currently doing right this very moment. major bonus.

so yeah... i never understood that whole "your first year of marriage is super hard" thing. maybe someone mixed that up with dating, because i'm quite sure dating is about three gazillion-billion-trillion times harder than being married.

so maybe don't be so sure when you get that advice for someone.

i'm quite determined to spread the word that marriage is the best thing (ever) to happen to me.

happy are we.

weekend.

2011-04-04T09:24:00.000-06:00

friday was ABSOLUTELY beautiful here!

i even got a little sunburned, which was fabulous.

it felt so nice to have some vitamin D.

i had a nice picnic in the park with leah and beck.

and then i had a wonderful photoshoot with this beautiful girl:

hello, april!

2011-04-01T10:08:00.000-06:00

it's finally warm enough to be outside without a jacket!

and that means today i'm going to have a picnic with leah and beck in the park.

and also having a photoshoot later.

i'm so excited that i won't have to wear gloves!!!

maybe i won't even need to wear a jacket! hallelujah!

i think i might finally be getting out of my winter blues slump.

because of daylight savings, i actually get to see the sun now, which always helps.

i'm just so excited for today... can you tell?

this weekend i will be watching general conference.

it's such a wonderful weekend full of the Spirit and happiness.

oh, and happy april fools day!

i totally tricked lincoln into thinking i was pregnant last night.

but it only lasted for two seconds because he has a constant awareness of the current time.

at least i know what his face will look like for the real deal.

hah.

have a lovely weekend.

i hope it's warm where you are too!

iPhone photos

2011-03-31T10:17:00.000-06:00

hey.

i've been working my tail off this week.

picking up extra hours... which is always good, but other areas of my life get neglected.

including this here blog.

but today i have a few photos from my iPhone that i thought i would share.

they are fun.

believe me.

here we go:

once upon a time, i was at work and my nose started gushing blood.

no idea why.

i'm a chronic nose bleeder.

i went to the bathroom to take care of it and it started gushing out of both nostrils.

it was terribly sad.

(see expression)

i'm very specific about my sub sandwich.

if any of you want to know... this is how i like 'em.

me at graduation taking a stupid picture of myself.

i just like how the girl behind me is totally smiling for the camera.

my rusty cat in the sink.

i miss him. :(

lincoln standing funny while shaving.

a surprise note in the bathroom one morning.

sweet husband.

lincoln eating top romen out of a serving bowl.

crazy husband.

the day we got little midger

she's so tiny!

sleeping with lincoln.

it's hard to tell in this pic, but she's covering up her face with her paw.

such a cutie.

and last but not least...

lincoln trying to smile with a numb mouth from a visit to the dentist.

always great pics.

so handsome.

there you have it...

what classics do you have on your phone?

check it.

2011-03-25T16:51:00.000-06:00

yo yo yo!

check it out.

my photo blog is FINALLY up and running!

a few tweeks here and there and it will be golden.

geez, louise. that only took me 3.5 months.

{photo from a wedding in january}

i'm working on the whole feedburner thing... i can't seem to get my subscription to work.

do you know?

it's all sorts of confusing to me.

but try subscribing to me... i'm not sure it'll work. haha, but try!

model found!

2011-03-24T17:14:00.000-06:00

thank you to everyone who contacted me for modeling tomorrow.

i was seriously surprised how many emails i got!

it was so hard to choose just one person.

i will most likely ask for models in the future... and probably in the NEAR future.

so stay posted.

really, thanks again.

you all are so great!