tying up some loose ends

Well folks...I dropped the ball on the 30 day challenge!! I got busy right around Thanksgiving time last year...and while I had good intentions of getting back on the bandwagon, blogging is one of the things that never got back on the wagon. Now, I'm 38 weeks pregnant and I feel like I need to finish this challenge before my next challenge starts...motherhood! So here it is: Day 24-30 of the 30 Day Photo Challenge!!

Day 24: Animal

These cute little guys are adorning the corner of the crib in the nursery...anxiously awaiting their little friend to get here! And yes, I know for safety reasons there should be no stuffed animals in the crib with an infant...so, they will be moved elsewhere once the little human arrives!

Day 25: Something Pink

Little Lennon's pink bow! I love it!!! Maybe there will be some pink bows in my near future???

Day 26: Close Up

I am in love with these curtains in our nursery that my wonderful mother in law helped me sew!! They are beautiful and exactly what I had envisioned!!

Day 27: From a Distance

Not the greatest pic...but I took this picture from our stairs of my wonderful, manly husband hanging up shelves in our living room. We've had these shelves and been talking about hanging them up for awhile now...so we finally did it! I think we might be in nesting mode! :) And they look pretty awesome too!

Day 28: Flowers

These are some of the cool centerpiece flowers from the baby shower my church friends threw me a couple of weeks ago! They're so fun! I've had 2 showers now, and they have been so fun! We're really ready for this baby now!!!!

Day 29: Black and White

 This is a picture from my baby shower that all my church friends threw me! As I already said, it was so much fun! I include this picture to show what I'm looking like these days. You could say that I'm feeling pretty large! Thankfully I'm still feeling really good...but I think I'm ready to have this baby now!!

Day 30: Self Portrait

Here's some pictures of Ben and I as babies. I think it's clear, but he's the 2 on the left and I'm the 2 on the right. What's our baby gonna look like?? Can't wait to find out!!!

Well, that's all folks! Finished with the Challenge!!!

For Eric....

This post is dedicated to my brother Eric because he so kindly texted me tonight to remind me to update my blog. So, this one's for you, brother!!

Day 20: Bokeh

Ok, mom, I know you're wondering...bokeh is the blurry, out of focus area in the above picture. Not the best example of bokeh...but I think you get the picture.

Day 21: Faceless Self-portrait

Just in case there's any confusion...that's a picture of my growing belly. Hello, third trimester!!!

Day22: Hands

Ok, this is kind of a weird picture of my hand. I have many of these pictures on my computer that I intend to eventually delete. Often when I am taking portraits, I get to a location early to scope it out. While I am scoping the location, I often hold out my hand where I think a good picture spot would be to see what kind of lighting hits my hand. I don't know if this is an effective thing to do. It's probably very amateur and nothing a professional photographer would ever do...but it's what I do.  And hence, I easily found a hand picture for this day. :)

Day 23: Sunflare

I love a picture with a good sunflare! I can't say this is my favorite pic I've taken with a sunflare...I don't really like how the sunflare is right on Ben's forehead...I'd rather it be more in the corner. But, I love this picture of Ben and our nephew Simon!

Days 18 & 19

Day 18: Your Shoes

First of all, sorry about showing a picture of my ugly feet...that is not even a very good quality picture anyway. But, thinking about shoes reminded me of this story, in which I happened to take a picture of...

So, the story is...Holly and I were visiting our brothers in Chicago. Holly was going to stay with her brother and sister in law, and I was going to stay with my brother. We all met together for dinner....and in the course of the evening, Holly's sister in law's shoe broke. After dinner we all went to hang out at my bro's house. In a gesture of kindness, I offered my only pair of shoes to Holly's sister in law in order for her to get home easier. I was going to see her the next morning, so I figured I could go without my shoes for the night. To my great surprise, the next morning, my brother really wanted to go out for breakfast before Holly and company came back. I told my brother it would not be possible due to the fact that I had no shoes. He insisted we should go and that I could wear his shoes...the only problem is that my brother's feet are huge!! I resisted at first, but finally my bro talked me into wearing his flip flops out in public in the big city of Chicago!! He promised me we could drive to our destination so that I would not have to walk far in his clown shoes. So, I swallowed my pride and slipped on the gargantuan flip flops. I was able to laugh at myself and even thought to take a picture (see above) of this hilarious and humbling situation. In the end, I didn't have to walk far, and I was able to hide my feet under the table during breakfast. In reality, no one probably even noticed my ridiculous shoes. But, my brother and I sure had a good laugh over it!

Shoes #2

I had to add this picture because today, in Northwest Indiana, we experience our first flurries for the winter. Now, I have to say that winter is my least favorite season...but the one redeeming quality about it is snowboarding. After I saw the snow today...I could just start to feel the snowboarding itch. I get it every winter and it is usually remedied by a trip out to the Rockies. This winter however, in my pregnant state, I think I'm going to have to endure this itch, and wait to get on my board next winter. Hmmm. Oh well!!

Day 19: Something Orange

My something orange is a my Crate and Barrel mixing bowls. I got them for our wedding and I love them!! Each one is a different color...only the largest one is orange. But I love having them setting out on my counter. Something about them just makes me happy! :)

Check out everybody's else's 30 Day Challenge on Tami's Blog!!

17: Technology

Sometimes I'm slow to embrace technology. Sometimes it bothers me that everybody is "plugged in". Sometimes I wish for simpler times where we all use pen and paper, and if I'm not at home, I can't be reached. 

But, since technology can't be avoided in this day in age...and I must admit that in many ways technology makes life so much easier...I have learned to embrace it. I am in no way a "techy". I still try to maintain a somewhat "unplugged" lifestyle. Sometimes I leave home without my phone because I don't always want to be at everybody's beck and call. I think technology is great...I just never want to be more involved with my computer, phone, or other gadgets that it gets in the way of my real life activities and real life relationships. 

When it does come to technology...I do have a preference. :) I'm an Apple girl. I love all things Apple....I do! :) Last winter, Ben and I made a special trip to Chicago just to go to the Apple store....and this is me with my new MacBook Pro strapped to my back. You could say, that I was (and still am) a pretty happy girl!!

more catch up!

Days 13, 14, 15, & 16...

Day 13: Yourself with 13 things

I wanted to say that this is me with 13 extra pounds...but I exceeded that many weeks ago! :) But what is true about this picture is that this is me with 13 weeks left of pregnancy!!! As of today, I am exactly 13 weeks from my due date!! It's going so fast...this both excites me and scares me!! I can't wait to meet our little boy or girl in February!!

Day 14: Eyes

I love this picture of my little cousin, Mason. His (unedited) blue eyes are so striking!! And he loved posing for my camera!! What a cutie!!

Day 15: Silhouette

Here's a silhouette from our trip to Florida. Can't believe it's almost been a month since we went! Time is flying by!! We've been having such beautiful fall weather lately...but I'm afraid in a few weeks, I'm really going to be wanting to be back where these beautiful palm trees grow!

Day 16: Long Exposure

I really don't play with long exposure on my camera enough. Another palm tree pic....except this one's from our trip to Phoenix last May.

......and I'm finally caught up!!!! Yay!!

Catch up day 2

Today I will post days 10, 11, & 12....and hopefully by tomorrow I can be back on track with everyone else.

Day 10: Childhood Memory

The house I grew up in! So much of my childhood is wrapped up in this place! My parents moved there 2 weeks before my oldest brother was born, and they still live there today. The front yard alone has so many memories...building countless snowmen in the winter, mowing the grass summer after summer, learning to ride my bike on the grass...then venturing onto the driveway, playing basketball and catch, laying out the slip n slide on a hot summer day, shucking corn on the front step....and that's just a start! I love going back here to visit my parents. It just feels like home! :)

Day 11: Something Blue

I love this picture. I took this last spring soon after I got my new camera. Ben and I went on a walk around Valpo, so I could have some fun with my new gadget. We discovered this charming, old garage in an ally near our apartment. It's paint was peeling everywhere, but I just thought it added to the character of the old building. We walked by the same garage a few months later, and found that the owners had painted it green. In my opinion, it looked much better with it's old, peeling, blue paint. 

Day 12: Sunset

One of my favorite things about living in Northwest Indiana is living so close to Lake Michigan. It's such a novelty to this girl who grew up in the middle of cornfields to have a beach only 20 minutes away!! I love it!! Here's the sunsetting over the beautiful Lake Michigan!

Catch up!

I'm really falling behind on this 30 Day Challenge! After the craziness of moving, and not having internet for awhile, I'm finally settled in and ready to catch up! I think technically today is Day #13, but I'm just going to do a few each day and catch up a bit more gradually. Today I will post days 7, 8, and 9.

Day 7: Fruit

I love oranges! A good, juicy, ripe orange is just as good as candy in my opinion (which is saying a lot because I love candy!). So glad we're coming into orange season!!!

Day 8: A Bad Habit

Sorry to bring my friends into this...but laying out in the sun has been a bad habit in my life. I took this picture while we were in Arizona...and you better believe I was right there in the middle of them, soaking up every ray of sun that I could. There are few things as alluring to me as a lounge chair, next to a body of water, a cold beverage in my hand, and a good book that I can't put down. My poor skin! I love the look of a golden glow...but in recent years, I have been trying to think long-term about the condition of my skin. I really don't want to age prematurely or even worse...skin cancer! So, I have been taking strides to lessen my time in the direct sun. A book is just as fun to read in the shade! And if I am in the sun...I always wear sunscreen!!

Day 8: Someone I Love

Ok. So there are a lot of people that I love that I thought about featuring for this day...but this guy is #1. A few of the many reasons that I love him are: he is thoughtful and kindhearted, he loves the Lord, he can always make me laugh, he's so excited to be a dad (and he's gonna be a great one!), and we can have fun together no matter what we're doing. I could go on and on....but I will stop. I love these pictures of him! I came home the other day and found him playing his guitar while watching the goings on outside our window. I love him!!

Check out Tami's blog here to catch up on everybody else's 30 Day Photography Challenge!