The one where I discuss purses
I haven't carried a purse since 2013, or was it earlier then that? Now that I think back, quite possibly when the girls were in high school is when I gave up the beast. I would photograph their basketball games and have my gear with me so I would throw my wallet in my gear bag. Maybe a lip chap or two. And then when I bought my Honda Pilot I gave it up for real. Have you seen the inside of a Pilot? Hello! It's like the perfect purse. There's a place for your Kleenex, you lip balm, even your rosary beads. It's the bomb, I'm telling you. I just slowly filled it up with all the things I used to carry in my purse. Ok. So it was a bit irritating in church and the hubs would ask for a Kleenex and I'd have to say "they are in in the car". Oh, he loved that! But for the most part, I've enjoyed the freedom of not being confined to my bag. Now I have missed the search. You know, the old purse is looking pretty worn out and you go through Dillards, or Macy's or TJMAX and start the search for the perfect bag. I even kind of miss organizing them. I would do that at the UPS counter while I waited for them to ship my prints. I was always picky about the purses I bought. Lots of thought and looking went into each purchase. I would carry them for at least a year, some even more. And because of the search and attachment, I would keep them all. They live in a drawer in my closet. I pull them out and look at them every once in a while. I pulled this one out the other day to run errands. To see if I missed it. Needed it. My iPad fit into it. That was cool. I've carried it a day now. It seems heavy. It slows me down at the counter where I shop. An extra step in putting away the wallet. Not sure if it will survive the next 24 hours. Tomorrow's shooting day. We'll see.
Anyone else here bag less?
the one with the weight loss group
here she is. My LET'S MOVE partner in crime. She loves me regardless.
I was in a weight loss group the past 6 weeks, "The Rock", named after that gorgeous hunk of a man, Dwayne Johnson and I actually gained weight. Yep. You read that right, I gained weight. How fun is that? We took pictures of our scale each Saturday and posted them in the group message. I gained weight! Hello! That's an F Kristin. A big FAT F on your health report card. Instead of kicking me out of the group, because hey, the rest of the ladies are kicking my ass, why would they kick me out?) they are starting up again for 8 more weeks. We are opening it up to more people. You know, so everyone can kick my ass while I cram Girl Scout cookies into my pie hole. So, if you are interested, let me know and I'll shoot you the details.
I'm getting serious this time. Serious about moving more and staying healthy. I'm worried because with my previous history, it'snot just about loosing weight to look good. Belly fat and being overweight increases your odds of cancer by almost 25%. I'm blogging this embarrassing big fat F story, to keep myself accountable. I can't let my body down.
if you see me horizontal on the side of the road, throw me cookies. Deal?
Love does,
Kristin
the one with 48 selfies
In honor of my birthday, here's 48 selfies taken that week. Yep. I went there. Somebody drop the mic.
the one where I pretend my blog works
Yep. You read that headline right! It's broken. and I've hired someone to build a new blogsite and I'm hoping to be back sharing more amazing images and thoughts. BUT, until then, this broken ass post will have to do.
insert long winded sigh of disgust :(
the one with the BIG ASS fireworks show @ Pirate Stadium
Last night... There are moments when I'm so happy and proud to be a Pirate! Last night was one of them. The Pirate Nation was filled with Americans celebrating the 4th of July!!! Cars and people were everywhere! Social media was lighting up like crazy! Everyone was visiting and sharing and taking selfies and just enjoying the evening.
My family enjoyed it, too. The girls and Devin came after the Bull Stop closed. Grandma and Chief joined us as well. We parked at St. Ramon's and watched for well over an hour. Then we ran into my Fed Ex guy (and Brett Salas's uncle, ahhh! What's his name?!?!) and visited with them for a while. They were having a party across the street. And after the show, they walked the parking lot and picked up all the trash that was left behind. Not ours of citrate, but how cool are they?!?!
That's what I love about West Texas towns. SLATON and Cooper look out for each other. Pray for each other. Celebrate each other.
Happy Birthday America! And thank you, Grimes Dentistry. Awesome show!!!
Love does,
Kristin
the one where I blog from my phone, Father's Day pictures
My blog is really pissing me off. I can't post pictures from the desktop version but from the app? No problem. It's driving me crazy. But I need to blog!!! So I'm trying from my iPhone. Not easy when you have fat thumbs like me. We celebrated Father's Day with some cooking. Yep. When you juice non-stop you plan all your celebrations around food. And you dream it about it. Oh how you dream about it! Lol
Devin slow cooked some ribs and chicken and I threw together a few sides. I don't eat meat and haven't for a couple of years. But when the man slow cooks some yard birds, I can't resist! So I "cheated" a bit.
Okay I cheated a lot. Hello! I also made some homemade chocolate brownies that were total YUM!!! So, no meat but definitely calories.
The girls had given Devin his gift earlier in the day. 4 of the top rated beers in the country. Super cool for him! He's really getting into all these beers thanks to the Bull Stop.
Only thing that could have been better? Hugging my own Dad.
Happy Father's. Day!
Kristin
the one with the WPJA Q1 Contest Results
I'm happy to announce I'm a member of the WPJA. The Wedding Photojournalist Association. I believe in the still image and the value it holds to our future generations. And not only the still image, but the documentary STILL IMAGE. So, even though I make "pretty pictures" of details, portraits, flowers, etc., my heart lies in the documentary aspect of the day. All the little candid moments that go by in a jiffy. When you look at the picture years later, it instantly takes you back to how you felt, what was going on, what you were thinking. That person and how much they mean to you. Or maybe they don't. Whatever the case, it gives you a glimpse of reality in that place or time. I know, I know, I'm getting all sappy, but it's likeI'm jumping up and down over here saying, "I believe! I believe!" And I do. I'm all in.
They announced their contest winners for Q1 Contest. They have them several times of year and I just love clicking through them and viewing all the AMAZING images! You should go grab yourself a little something to drink and lose yourself for a while.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE WINNERS
And no, I didn't enter the contest. But I will. So someday soon, I'll post a link to the winners and HELLO! You'll see one of my photos.
Love Does,
Kristin
the one with the windy prom day
In West Texas, it's just expected. We don't get a "gentle breeze" ever. We do everything big here, so we do WIND BIG HERE as well. And Prom for Idalou was no exception. My girls always had pictures before prom with their group of friends. This year, with both of mine out of high school, I was going to miss it. I thought... but then my friend Michelle called and asked me to photograph her daughter's group of friends and the day was saved! YEAH! PROM FASHION STRIKES AGAIN! I don't know what it is about it, but I love seeing all the dresses, shoes, hair, jewelry! All of it! So, thank you Michelle. And thank you, brave group of friends that spent tons of money on dresses, tuxes, makeup, hair, etc., and allowed me to take you outside in the wind, to make a few photographs. You did GREAT!
Love does,
Kristin
the one with Monterey Prom 2105
HELLO! I'm a day behind deadline, but the first gallery of MONTEREYPROM.COM has published!!! WOO HOO! There's 3 more to go, but it's all I'm doing today after mass. Yep. If I go to mass and pray about this, I'll have the "lighting speed of Jesus" behind me. Go team!
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MONTEREY PROM 2105 PICTURES!!!!
Prom was so much fun and I have so many wonderful images to share with you! BE PATIENT please. I'll have the rest up for viewing and ordering soon!
Love Does,
Kristin
You've reached the landing page for www.montereyprom.com. OMGEEEEEEEE! Prom was so much fun and I have so many wonderful images to share with you! BE PATIENT please. I'll have them up and ready for viewing and ordering soon!
Love Does,
Kristin
the one with First Communion
I love our church! It's home to me. And recently I had the pleasure of photographing First Communion there. It was held during Holy Week on the Thursday we washed the feet. The kids were very excited and despite the length on the service, behaved beautifully. Congratulations to their families! To view and purchase images from this event, CLICK HERE.
Love does,
Kristin
the one with human foosball
LUNA held the 3rd annual Fish Fry + Foosball Tournament this past weekend. It was a first for me to attend and witness. HELLO! I'm sold! HUMAN FOOSBALL is pretty darn cool. If you follow me on social media, I tweeted and instagrammed like CRAZY about this thing! But the organization does such great work, unifying our communities, I couldn't help myself. Riversmiths cooked some awesome food for for the community and other then a sunburn that hurts like heck? It was a great day!
I hope to see everyone back next year! Bring a friend!
Love Does,
Kristin
the one with my walk this morning, because it's all about the dogs
Look at his face in that first one? Friendly. Inviting! Those ears! And hello! All 3 of these dogs must be reading puppy vogue. Look how well they blend together!
We've got some good dogs in this neighborhood.
They walked with us for a while and then broke through the fence and ran West
the one where I talk about juicing
Yeah. You read that right. Juicing. I started juicing. I mean honestly? You probably aren't surprised. Once diagnosed in April 2013, (you can read about it briefly here) , I cut meat out of my diet. Research links red meat to colon cancer and I wanted to give my body every chance it could of taking care of itself and staying healthy through treatment. Juicing couldn't have been too far behind. Right?
Devin has lost basically a human body. He's lost sooooo much weight I hardly recognize him. Like seriously. He's never been this skinny since I met him! He's dropped a ton of the weight eating low carb. But the problem with "diets" is you almost always go off them. So, when I told him he should try juicing, like Joe Cross did in the documentary,Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead, he said he would. And I wanted to try it to shed all those lovely Holiday pounds that just wouldn't go away. Me shoving Heath bars into my pie hole certainly didn't help.
We bought ajuicer, downloadeda couple of apsand jumped on the Juicing Bandwagon. Yeeee-ha!!! Here's a few things I've learned the last few weeks.
I posted some pictures on Facebook and there were quite a few questions, messages and texts. Because of the great dialogue we have going on, I thought I needed to blog and share my juicy thoughts here. (See what I did there. Heeheee)
I'm a firm believer in what is in the Bible. God gave us our bodies and this world and us stupid humans have screwed almost all of it up. But by His good graces, we are always given chance after chance. Thank God. Because really? I sooooooo need those graces. But I'm also human, and I make mistakes and I'm lazy and I don't like things that are hard. I mean, HELLO! Life itself is hard enough. Right? So, here's some tips that have helped me with juicing.
First, I don't buy everything organic. I know. I know. My friend Melanie is wincing in her cute red-headed way. And I'm not saying I won't in the future. But baby steps. So, I buy my stuff as fresh as possible right down the road from my house at Market Street. Now, I have bought at sprouts, Sam's, Costco, etc. It's really about what part of Lubbock am I an right now? What's quickest for me to get my butt home? It's that sort of thing. So, don't put extra pressure on yourself to buy organic unless you really want to. I mean, I realize it's better for us, etc. but hey, I'm still learning myself, so I just make sure I buy fresh and buy often.
I buy my greens EVERYDAY. Yep. You read that right. Everyday. I don't stand at my refrigerator every 10 minutes and mist spray my kale and spinach. And I found out that they just don't stay very fresh. I much prefer to buy them each day and juice. This is just me and I'm sure some of you will offer suggestions on how to keep it fresh in my fridge. And please do! I'm open to suggestions. I don't go to the gym, I go to the grocery store. So, this is my thing right now.
I love the app 101 Juice Recipes for the iPhone. Here's the link again so you don't miss it. CLICK HERE FOR THE AP. You all, it's so cool to be able to look up the recipes on my iPhone while I'm in the parking lot headed into the store. Yep. That's all the time I have to think about this. That's it. I'm not pulling from blogs or magazines, or trying to remember what's in what. THIS has to fit into my speedy busy life or it ain't fitting and therefore, it won't get done. So, I highly recommend the app if you want to juice. HIGHLY. It's got an awesome category list, shopping list, favorite button, etc. Please do yourself a favor and if you want to do this, buy the app. And spend some time reading about all the pretty juices you are drinking and just what they do for your body and brain. They are going to make you feel AMAZING!
You should start with a reboot. We did. And even though we rarely fix those juices again, it totally helps and works! But please, please, please, read the pdf I linked to completely and do all the prep work before jumping right in. If you aren't eating as healthy as I was before you reboot, you will have some body withdrawals that you wouldn't wish on your worst enemy. It's not joke, we are what we eat. So if you've been pumping toxins and crap into your system, your system is going to REVOLT like DEMONS are not wanting to leave. Leg cramps, headaches, night sweats, etc. Not fun. So, please do the prep work included in the pdf before jumping in. Ain't nobody got time for leg cramps unless your ass is super tight and amazing. Just saying.
Lay all your food out before you turn on that juicer. I make juice once a day for 3 people. We drink all our meals. I still eat during the day, but have all that gorgeous juice just waiting and ready. LOVE that! So, I get all the ingredients together and do all the prep. I peel the oranges, limes, lemons, etc. If you quarter them with a knife, they are easier to peel. I have large bowels to divide everything up in to the 3 piles. Works great and makes the time go so much faster.
Invest in some canning quart jars. We've found out this works the best for dividing everything up and measuring out the servings. One jar will typically hold both servings for the day. I then pour my juice over ice and sip through out the day. Devin is much more anal about drinking it all during mealtimes instead of grazing. Not so much me. And I typically don't divide mine up. For example. Today? We are having Citrus Time Three and I'll drink it all morning and finish it completely. Then I'll move to my green and then my last one. He will divide them up and split them. The main thing is just DRINK IT. Don't be too scientific with it. The main thing is get it into your body. Oh! Buy the wide mouth jars! They are much easier to clean then the others. I bought mine at Target. But I've seen them everywhere. And they aren't crazy expensive.
Don't juice something you know you don't like eating whole. I've never been a big fan of cabbage unless it sour and over some German Sausage. So, juicing it? Eh. Not fun. So, try everything once, but once you figure out what you like, stick to it! That way you will be successful.
It's OK to not include EVERYTHING in the ingredients. I so don't buy fresh rosemary, thyme and mint and juice those things. You can! Don't get me wrong. But I couldn't tell much a difference when I did juice them and they sure add to the expense. Now if I had a fresh herb garden, it would be grand. And then I would. I would walk out there in my flowery sun dress and big hat and snip some fresh herbs and juice away! But alas, I don't. So, there. And guess what? It's still working and tastes great!
Ginger is intense and can actually make you gag. Ugh, what is with that being in every recipe? I realize it's a miracle drug an can cure burping to cancer, but gag a maggot! That stuff can be super strong when juicing. The recipe will call for 2 inch piece and your piece may be huge diameter wise and it just doesn't work well. In fact, I swear Devin and I almost killed ourselves that first week when we tried the Sporty Spice or something like it. Do not take everything so literal. You will get used to the sizes of fruit and veggies and what they yield. So, be prepared to make mistakes and just roll with it or even, throw the juice out! LOL
Be prepared to feel great! I think that's the thing that surprised us the most. How unbelievable great we feel when juicing! I'm a firm believer that we should eat to live and feel great! My energy is through the roof! And that's such a great thing for me after going through chemo and working hard to build my body back after nuking it and poisoning it. HELLO! That's exactly what I did to fight the cancer. So, building my body back and keeping it healthy and working for me is my goal now.
Okay, so I guess I'm done with my bold points. Feel free to comment below and ask questions. I'm sure I won't know all the answers, but I will help any way I can! I'd love more folks to get on board with this way of eating and hopefully change they way the world looks at food. I'm not saying eating meat or pasta or bread is bad. I'm not. I'm just saying they are not the fuel we were created to fun off of. We need LIVING fresh food to keep our bodies moving and working for us. Those things? Those are the treats we can celebrate good life with.
What we consume always determines thelives that we live. We can see this, most easily, with the food that we eat.
Love Does,
Kristin
the one where I test out blogging from a plane
this is only a test. For the next 60 seconds, I will test out this stupid ap on my iPad to see if I can indeed blog from any device. Please excuse my test.
the one with my trip to New Orleans, the NPECA
I'm in New Orleans photographing a conference here. It's raining and wet, but the people are great and I'm having a good time. I'll try and blog more while I'm here and hopefully get out and see the city more. I've been here before. Once when Jason played football for SMU and we had a game here against LSU. Great weekend! But that was before kids were born and me and the city has changed. The next time I came to photograph a wedding. I'm not sure if I was blogging then? I'll have to use that little search box up there and see.
Love Does
Kristin
the one where I talk about 2014
We are currently 3 days into 2015 and I haven't even shared my end of year blog post! What is wrong with me! HELLO! 3 days?!? And to think, "blogging more" and view more is one of my new goals for the year. LOL Life is funny that way. But according to Wordpress, I have several drafts of this post and that probably means, I'm just not interested in blogging about the past year. See, I've learned that life really is about the day-to-day and not so much the past or the future. It honestly isn't. And that's not to mean those things aren't important, they are. But living in the now, being present and accountable, and sharing your every day with HIM, the almighty maker of heaven and earth...THAT is what it truly is about.
So, without further ado, here's the blog post where I talk about pictures I grabbed for my "year of end post". LOL After all, I am a photographer that loves taking pictures and blogging about life. So, win-win.
Keep scrolling baby! Keep scrolling!
JANUARY
This was me last year in January. I'm still undergoing treatment for my "bad ass" and 1/2 my hair fell out in the process. My awesome hairdresser cut it for me, short, short, short and this is what it looked like. I had "ombre" hair. It was awful, really. Not the cut! No! The cut was AWESOME, but the color. Just awful. Several different colors and non of them very pretty. It didn't stay that way long. Luke Bryan was coming to town and I needed something new. You know, just in case, Luke looked my way! LOL
Treatment ended in February of 2014. For most of 2013 and some of 2014, I was pretty worn out. I spent a lot of time on the couch with this lovely lady below. Kanga was the perfect companion! But I was very thankful when we both had the energy to get off that couch and get moving! Sometimes, I think she was enjoying the couch too much. She still is matter of fact.
I finally picked a color and went with it. I told the hairdresser, Pink. Not the color, the artist. This is what I got. Not too bad.
Not very Pink.
But much better then what I was dealing with. It's a definite thumbs up! I could add a few tatoos and that might help, no?
Our house is still for sale. We've showed it a handful of times this past year and I'm convinced we will find the perfect someones to love it like we do. I mean come on! Who wouldn't want to look at this door each day?!?! I still love this view! Such a cool door and such a fun place to live! But honestly? It's time to get her sold and get on with our lives. We need to get back to the farm, save some money and go on the road. Take a trip or something. Visit family. Take more pictures. Pay off bills. Pay for more college. All the above and then some. So, if you are reading this, and even thinking of buying a house, call me. I'll give you the grand tour. Ok?
I haven't given a cancer update and I feel like I need to. I know you read blogs sometimes and folks share their stories completely, but my health is such an ongoing thing, it's just part of my life. I know better, I do better. But here's the scoop to living with a colon cancer diagnosis. I will have scans and blood work the rest of my life to make sure I'm cancer free. Luckily for me, many of the indicators can be measured in my blood work. That's fairly easy. And honestly, the scans are that bad either. Just drink some stuff and lay on a table.
This my friends, is doable. Very doable. It's just a way of life when you have a "bad ass".
2014 brought a Luke Bryan concert with this pretty lady and my niece Brooke. I LOVED IT! I was weak and sat down for 1/2 the concert, but I LOVED it! Something about live music and just being with friends and moving to the beat. Oh, and how can I forget? Luke introduced me to Lee Brice. Oh, yeah! New obsession. Don't worry Kenny. He can never take your place, but he's a pretty darn good singer and I loved his new song, "I Don't Dance". LOVE. Although, his performance at the concert of that song, just him and a guitar, it was soooooo much better then the version he released. The release is way over produced. Still a good song, but come on, live is always better. Unless you are Mili-vinili.
FEBRUARY
Summer had her surgery.
I'd like to say that everything is great and wonderful. But it isn't. Her hip is great. Her pelvis, not so much. And her back? Still giving her grief. We are following up with her doctor in Dallas in the next couple of weeks. She's more then ready for some relief.
You can read more about this issue, HERE.
May also brought graduation. Summer Zoe graduated!
Yep. My last kid graduated high school. My family was here for the occasion, minus my sister and I loved having them here! Something I've learned about cancer, life is too short. Honestly, you hear that all the time, but it truly is and not seeing your family is just plain stupid.
In fact, the expiration date on hugging my momma has come and gone. I need to plan a trip to see her soon. Here we are in our "matching outfits" and hair. Aren't we the cutest? I have her eyes and nose I think. Don't you?
The summer brought more patio time for me. Last summer I mainly stayed indoors. I did chemo from June - December, so I just plain didn't feel like it. This summer? HELLO! I lived poolside. LOVED IT! So, when pulling photos for this post, I found a ton from the pool. I even created a pool play list on my phone.
Yes. Kenny was on it.
He's on every play list. Did you know he's going on tour this year?
The end of summer brought found me wearing a fit bit. You have probably seen these. I even blogged about it. But it has really gotten me moving and moving is good. Around the neighborhood, around my town, even in parking lots. I now park FOREVER away just to get steps.
Having puppies in our house really got me thinking about spending more time training Kanga. She's such a pain in the ass when people come over. Jumps on them. Barks at them. She's a needy creature and I wanted to make her a better dog. I researched some stuff online and made a few adjustments that have helped. Mainly, she has to earn her keep around here. For example, sitting and getting calm before putting her food bowl down. Making her sit and get calm before letting her back inside. Taking her on small trips in the car and to new places. All these things help give your dog a purpose other then simply taking up space. They need a purpose. We all do really.
I hesitate to show you this picture, because we all look so happy, but it was taken after a funeral. Our family lost Idalee this year. She's Devin's great grandmother and was almost 100 years old. I know! Crazy right? It's going to be really strange around here in the next few years as we adjust to her being gone. It's that way when you lose anyone in your life that has a strong presence. You have to develop a new groove without them.
She will be dearly missed.
So, we all took a trip to Austin to surprise Kalyn for her birthday. This was Davida's first time and it was soooooo much fun! I think she really enjoyed it even though Austin has changed a while since she was last here. We took a tour of her sorority house and even though it was a quick visit, we honestly had a great time!
We scoured some cheap rooms thanks to an ap on the phone in a nice hotel and any time we are all together, we have a blast!
This year brought lots of travel to me for work. LOVE that! I hate traveling alone, which happens most of the time, but I love traveling all the same. It's fun to meet people from different parts of our nation and it's AWESOME to see some new places.
For example, I got to go to Virginia and stay with my photographer friend, Allegra. Life is honestly about the life we live in the Body of Christ with the body of Christ. And we ARE THE BODY OF CHRIST. I've known some of these people for a decade or longer and it was so nice to spend time with them. Not cyber time, but physical time in their presence.
Jodel in Wisconsin.
Kim in Wisconsin.
I love my friends with cameras!
I also took a trip back to Kentucky for my birthday. So much fun!!!! I have this ap on my iPhone that helps you take selfies on a timer. I realize the new phones do this on their own, but if you need a timer, try this ap. It's called CAM ME. I think?
This photo below is one of my favorites EVER. We had so much fun that day! And this is what I'm talking about folks. REAL time with REAL people in your lives.
The Body of Christ is alive and with us when we are together, gathered.
We had the iPhone on my dad's car and we were all trying to trigger the timer. LOL Notice our matching fitbits below? UK blue baby!
And how wonderful is our GOD that can paint a picture with nature! HELLO! I had some awesome trees in Michigan, gorgeous views of all in Wisconsin. And then Kentucky. And in Bryan, Texas as well. I wasn't planning a fall tour of the USA, but I got it!
BRAVO, God, BRAVO!
Lots of family time this year. The heart does grow fonder. TOTALLY! Below is me and my nephew Jack, tailgating at a TCU game.
My sister-in-law, Emily.
My BFF, Toni.
Summer Zoe, of course...we are at TCU after all.
My brother-in-law, Jason.
The gang before the game. So much fun!!!
And we even ran into our cousin, Marcus! This was a super fun weekend.
Summer Zoe going to TCU has given Toni and I lots of opportunities to go to Ft. Worth together. HELLO! We are the road trippin' queens! Her sister, Brittany is Summer's roomie. I LOVE this!!!
Devin is even on board with the selfie more now that he's got a new hot bod thanks to hard work and dieting. I like having photos together.
We still own the Bull Stop. Please go and like our facebook page, even if you aren't 21. It's still a family run store with the girls and I working there. We have DVD's to rent, great cherry limeades and popcorn. Yes. We have liquor and the coldest beer EVER as well.
We've been taking lots of selfies lately. This one below is from Turkey Day.
Family is important. Take the time and the selfies. LOL Can I call them selfies if other people are in them? What's the protocol on this. Help me out new generation.
And while your at it, help me out when it comes to posing. I could obviously use some advice from the two on the right below. HELLO! I look like a complete dork. This was also before I started wearing contacts. I completely forgot to share that with you guys. My eyesight after cancer, needed some help. So, contacts are my new best friend.
When it's cold, you can always find a friend or two to walk with you at the FUMC Activity Center. LOVE having this resource available to us! Gotta get my daily steps in.
I've learned that friends can be family as well. Especially when your family is gone and spread out everywhere in the USA. Toni, below, yep, she's my BFF and that stands for Best Friend in your Family. Okay, so my sister is my BFF, too. Insurance in case she reads this blog post.
This is me and mascara at a red light. I don't usually wear it, but I did this day. I do have eyelashes, they are just really blonde. Maybe learning how to do makeup should be a goal for 2015?
You gotta love those West Texas sunsets!
2014 also brought the ap, audible.com into my life. With all the travels, I've been listening to books this way. Gone Girl, I'll Stay, Fault in Our Stars, Eleanor + Park, just to name a few. Good Reads is the ap that is useful to find ones that you may like. I use it a bit as well. Anyway, one of the things I listened to on a trip to Ft. Worth was the 7 Pillars of Catholic Spirituality. He talks about going to mass and taking notes in a notebook, so that you can look back on it after a year. Ask yourself the question each time in mass, to prepare your heart and your head, "What can make me a BETTER version of myself?" And listen to the readings, the music, the homily with this question in mind. Well, when the Christmas Cards started rolling in, I was reminded of this little tidbit in how this one was addressed. I'm keeping the envelope to remind myself to do this. Let's be BETTER versions of ourselves. Because truly this is the purpose of our life! It is!!! It truly is!!
I hear people struggling with their purpose all the time. Their jobs, what they should study, always searching for happiness OUTSIDE themselves. It's not there! It's just not. The purpose is truly being a BETTER version our ourselves.
Just a little tidbit I'm striving for each day.
I'll end this post with this guy above.
He's pretty darn cool.
He doesn't read my blog but many that know him do, and when you see him next, say hi, look him in the eye and smile.
God Bless and LOVE DOES! It truly does do!!!!
the one where I go to a Roller Derby Game
Toni made the signs. How cute are they? Scary Go Round is my hairdresser. Yep. The girl who does my do. My Hairdo. LOL She's a roller derby girl and we went to watch her last match here in Lubbock. She's a member of the Roller Dollz. When we got there, we had a choice of "suicide seats" or the seats in the stands. You can just guess where we picked to sit. LOL! Yep. Suicide seats baby! No worries. No one was injured, at least not in the seats. We did watch a girl on the opposing team bite it super hard and lay there for a while. I think she then threw up in a trashcan before heading to her seats. Gosh! These girls are tough! I had a great time watching and shooting and even more fun afterwards hanging out with friends. I sure don't do that enough.
Love does,
Kristin
the one with Monterey BB Team
Something about high school boys. Just something. Maybe it's the age? You know, full of hope and energy much like young boys are, yet, also just full of it. You know? Full of it! And that makes them so much fun to photograph! Monterey does a BB program and needed someone to shoot the teams for the images. I had the chance to photograph them last year, so when they called this year, I jumped on it. JV boys went first an we photographed them outside. It was a gorgeous hot day. GORGEOUS. Last year? Raining cats and dogs and cold, cold, cold. Don't worry, I managed to get a decent one for the program. By decent I mean boring, looking at the camera where you can see their face and numbers. And I photographed each one by himself. This is where personality really shines! You'll notice when you scroll down. Go ahead, scroll. And I will join you .
Next, the VARSITY PLAYERS. They do a suit and tie for the program. Spiffy little fellas. Looking pretty darn good. Guess who forgot the grey backdrop this year? Yep. THIS GIRL. So, we used the wall in the gym and you know what? It turned out just fine. And the boys clean up really well. And a suit is pretty darn cool to wear once in a while. Especially when you still wear athletic shorts on bottom. LOL That's why they are smiling and all happy. That and I'm pretty darn funny sometimes. 
Okay, they boys do "cut outs" or "fat heads" for the gym, and I took quite a few of those. Full body, being all cool and trying tricks and stuff. But I also took these few for me. Yep. I sometimes shoot for me AND BE FUNNY. So, here are the Varsity boys one by one, horizontal, just for me.
And we have to do the "M" shot! LOVE these colors, the pretty blue and red. I'm realize I'm a Cooper Pirate through and through. ALL IN ALL THE WAY, but I sure do love the Plainsmen blue. 
And then the theme. Yep. A good theme can go a long way with a good group. Only problem? Last year we battled cold and rain, this year? HEAT AND SUN. IN OCTOBER. But they were troopers and pretty much tried everything I threw at them. Thank you boys. 
Thank you for being such sports in the hot sun and willing to "dive, crawl and jump" for me and my camera. I appreciate the spirit! And good luck with your season! I wish you well!
You can view more of the photographs on your gallery. It's publishing now. Simply click below.
Love does,
Kristin