would you wear it around your neck?

so i now have 3 "semi-official" shoots under my belt, and a lot of learning yet to do. i am excited though by what I have achieved in the short time since going completely manual with my camera settings. there are a bajillion things to think about. i won't bore you with all said things. i just finished shooting a couples shoot with nick and lindsay last night, and they were wonderful to work with. looking through their pictures i am pretty pleased with the results. i see a lot of areas to work on and my strengths. i made a list of things to start practicing daily with my camera. my camera is my eye, and i need to hone its abilities so it can think about other things than is my iso correct right now. i am definitely seeing how this can quickly turn into a full time endeavor. there is meeting with clients, shooting, processing images, editing images, designing an album layout (for now, a blog layout) and blogging about the shoot. shooting is the most fun yet most challenging. but i LOVE it:)

so here is a question for the few reading. if you pay with cash at a restaurant and the waitress (who mind you has been pretty crappy up until now, like forgetting to put someones order in completely, not getting refills when you are sitting outside in 105 degree oklahoma weather, not coming to check if everyone received their food, not knowing specials, etc) brings you back your change, and say your total bill was $8.24 and she decides NOT to give you your 76 cents back, do you count that as a part of her tip? i did. i don't mind the not giving me back change in pennies, but seriously, 76 cents? i know that sounds a little over dramatic, but given the rest of the evening it was too much. i left her a dollar...and her 76 cents. before you judge, know that i myself was a waitress for almost a year. sometimes you get tables who even though you do your very best, they don't tip well. nothing you can do about that. BUT if you are not doing your job, i think the quickest way to learn is to make low tips. either that or you shouldn't be waitressing. that job is not for the faint of heart. also somehow in the midst of her forgetting our friends order completely and never coming back to check on us, evan got her attention and asked about the tacos that were missing, and because he truly is so sweet and a great guy somehow ended up apologizing to her. she said "no it's not a problem, don't worry about it". somehow i feel like that should have been played out oppositely. anyway...

also, after our dinner we went to cuppies and joe for coffee and cupcakes. in the line to order there is a shelf that has a lot of local companies and individuals business cards. there was one for a woman who is a birth doula, a breastfeeding specialist, and my personal favorite, she encapsulates placentas. gag me. i have no idea what they are encapsulated in, or what one would do with said placenta. maybe you treat it like the topper on your wedding cake and save it for a year? who knows. i will give her points on originality.

i am totally coveting a canon 40D.

had a good time with my parents this past week. thank you guys for coming all the way down and braving the heat:) i love you. evan's parents and sister kelsey come down in a little over a week to bring her down to start her freshman year at oc. excited about seeing them too.

hopefully playing a game of cricket this weekend with friends- had the game explained to us at cuppies, and it sounds suspiciously like quidditch. should be fun.

i will be posting pictures from lindsay and nick's mock e-session soon. they are hot. i said it. check out the few i posted on my facebook until then.

love,

m

and because every post is better with a picture:

food i do not eat, but it smells and looks delicious

best.pic.ever. one of the many perks of being married; the stud on the far right:)