I know that I read more than 30 books last year, but here are some of the ones that stood out in my memory for some reason or another. Have you read any of these? I’d love to hear your thoughts on any of them! I probably shouldn’t admit that a few of these books have been read way more than 1 or 2 times…more like six. ;)

I’ll admit that I usually like books geared towards young adults…and I’ve had an 11 year obsession with Harry Potter…but a girl just can’t help it! My favorite new series that I read last year was the Mortal Instruments one that started with City of Bones. It sucked me in quickly and I can’t wait for the 5th one to come out this year!

As one of the 500 social network websites I’m on, Goodreads is one of my favorites for keeping track of books, reviews, etc.! I’d love to connect with you on there if you share the love of reading!

4,100 children die every day from water related diseases.

I have been blessed with clean water to drink, wash with, and even to clean things and water plants with. I have also been blessed with a wonderful business. I feel it’s about time that I start sharing even more of my blessings with others.

I first heard about charity: water about two years ago and I haven’t been able to get them out of my mind since then. Everyone on the planet deserves to have water and it’s so hard for me to fathom that one in SEVEN people doesn’t have it. So…I’m going to try and do something about it.

First of all, I am going to donate 10% of my personal income from session fees for the rest of 2011 straight to charity: water. The best thing about this is that 100% of that money will go straight to helping people get water, as do all public donations with their charity. No matter how much money this amounts to, I know it will make a difference because it only takes $20 to help another person get access to clean, safe water.

Secondly, I’ve started a My charity: water campaign to try and raise even more money. With the holiday season coming up, I can’t think of a better time to share the giving spirit with more than just your loved ones. What better gift than giving someone a better chance at survival? If you feel inclined to share your blessings as well, here is a link to my campaign, or you can start your own! I’d love to raise $200 by the end of the year because that’s 10 more people with water!

Has it been put on your heart to try and help change the world in a small or large way? I’d love to hear your stories and would love your help with saving lives!

This is the view of the city from the Japanese Flower Gardens, I definitely recommend you go there if you visit Portland! They’re so beautiful and right next to the Rose Gardens.

No trip to Portland is complete without a stop at VooDoo Doughnuts! It’s a must, even though you might have to wait in line 45mins-2hrs!

Multnomah Falls is incredible. It’s two connected waterfalls that span 620 feet and are just breathtaking. Our Earth is beautiful.

I’m pretty convinced that the animals at the Oregon Zoo were posing for me. It was weird. The elephant saw us, walked towards us, then turned sideways and curled it’s trunk in a perfect elephant pose. That zoo was way better than the Phoenix Zoo in my opinion because 1. it’s in the cloudy forest, 2. they let you get really close to the animals (I only brought a 35mm lens with me) 3. and it was not crazy crowded like our zoo usually is! If you’re ever looking for somewhere gorgeous to visit…I definitely suggest Portland. I only wish I could go more than once a year. :)

I also know that I’ve been slacking in the blog department the last few months and I feel badly about it. Blogging isn’t one of my favorite things to do and it takes a real time commitment to blog consistently but I’m trying to get better! This summer has been a great one because I’ve gotten to focus on enjoying my new-found freedom after graduation, I’ve gotten to have some adventures, I’ve had the chance to read a bunch of books (I’m kind of obsessed with reading ;) ) and I’ve gotten to focus on the back-end aspects of my business since it’s been too hot outside to do much shooting! I’ve also been able to work on a few of my 101 in 1001 goals!

For my business, I’ve been focusing on uniting all of my branding materials so I can keep moving in a positive direction in the future! I love getting to make little tweaks that help me get to where I want to be and summer is usually the only chance I get to make these little changes! I also have finally completed working on my dedicated office space for my business. I am SO happy to have a space just for working because it helps me focus a lot better and also gives me better separation of my business and personal time. It’s very organized and pretty and with my new space I’m definitely ready to take on my busy shooting schedule this Fall. :)

Adventure-wise, I got to go on two out-of-state trips and loved them both! I went to both Minneapolis and El Cajon and even though I worked on both trips, I had some great experiences and I’ll share some photos below.

Another thing I’ve been working on lately are personal photo projects. I completed one of them in May, and with the completion of it, I got a sense of closure from a chapter of my life book ending. Documenting aspects of my life through photographs really helps me deal with change and acceptance of endings, because otherwise I struggle with saying goodbye to things. A second personal photo project I’ve been working has stemmed both from a love of the specific art and a desire to push my skills to become more technically proficient and more creative in general. I might post a glimpse into this project later, it’s really a never-ending one.

Even though I despise the heat, I love the summer time because I really get a chance to enjoy life and work on who I am as a person. It’s fun and peaceful most of the time and I try and do at least one thing I really love doing each week. It’s a great way to live. :) Here are a few photos of what I was up to this summer!

I rode the heck out of the Mall of America roller coasters and loved it. Disneyland is my favorite place in the world for rides but Mall of America was still really fun! I also got to visit the Vikings Stadium while I was there…the Arizona Cardinals will always be my favorite team but the Vikings are in my top three! Kayaking was definitely on the to-do list as well since Minnesota is the state of 10,000 lakes. La Jolla cove was beautiful and I loved walking out on the sea walk even though I was the only one who had a large wave crash onto me…twice. That’s why my clothes are wet in the picture. :)

It was a wonderful summer full of great experiences, hard work, and growth both as a person and a photographer! I love moving forward.

Do you have a furry friend in your life that you can’t live without? Tell me about them!

Here’s the photo that makes it official. ;)

Recipe

3 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1/4 tsp Active Yeast

1 1/4 tsp Salt

1 1/2 Cups Water

Takes these four ingredients and mix them in a bowl. I just put them in and mix them with my hand into a little ball and let it sit for 12-15 hours overnight.

Once your bread has risen, take it out of the bowl and lay it on a floured counter or dish towel.

Fold the four edges into the center so it makes a little folded ball.

Pre-heat the oven to 500*F and while its warming up, put a La Creuset pot (if you have one) or any kind of Dutch oven/French oven inside of your oven to heat up. Once the oven is heated, take out the pot and throw the bread ball (with the fold seams facing up) inside. Bake the bread with the lid on the pot for 30 mins, pull it out and take the lid off, then put it back in for about 10 minutes. Once it’s done baking, let it cool and dig in!

I burned this one a bit but it was still fabulous. :)

Here’s a Youtube video that will show you the process in more detail! Click Here. I’d love to know if you try it and what you think!

In other news, my first wedding of the new year is tomorrow at Silverleaf and should be beautiful! Lots to look forward to. :)

Another thing I’m going to try and do this year is journal a bit. I’ve never been much of a journal person and this blog is enough work for me…but when I was shopping in Anthropologie last week I discovered a wonderful little book that will help me out. I saw the Simple Diary at Anthro that day and really wanted it. I got on Amazon a few days later and ordered one because I think this little book is a great idea! They come in a bunch of colors and there aren’t really rules when it comes to this diary. Each page takes about two minutes total to fill out, so all of the time required for journalling can’t be an excuse anymore. The book asks interesting questions and every page is totally different. I can’t wait to start filling mine up. :)

Happy New Year everyone!!

1. The first thing I did when I woke up that took me a big part of my day, unfortunately, was writing my final paper for my last class. I typed it so I couldn’t really take a picture so the “A” logo is my substitution..that’s allowed right?! It was exciting though because I’m officially done with my last Fall semester of college.

2. The wonderful UPS man delivered me some book goodies for a client and I’m happy how they turned out! I’ve got to say…the UPS man driving up is typically a common but welcome sight over here, I love getting packages! :)

3. I ate my lunch while enjoying looking at our gorgeous fireplace. My mom handmade each of our stockings (except hers) and I love them with all of my heart. Of course the pups get their own mini-stockings!

4. No one else was home with me and miss Mia needed some attention so we played in the yard together and snuggled some. Who wouldn’t wanna snuggle such a cute little pup?? …Even though she needs a haircut.

5. After hangout time with the doggies, I painted my nails with my favorite brand of $1.99 nail polish. I bought silver to be festive because I wear red a lot during the normal year. I’ve got to say that I like the silver a lot.

6. I had a few client Christmas orders to pack up so after a quick trip to the store to get some of the supplies I had run out of, their orders were packaged with love!

7. My Christmas present hiding space was getting too cluttered so I wrapped some of the goodies for my family. I think that penguin, snowman, reindeer wrapping paper is so cute. :)

8. The Christmas tree is probably my number one favorite decoration for Christmas and I love sitting in the room and looking at all of the old ornaments and of course putting new gifts under the tree.

9. I ended the day with watching probably my all time favorite Christmas movie. My dad and I have watched it together every year for 17 years, it’s a wonderful tradition that I want to keep even when I have my own family.

I hope you all had a fabulous day yesterday and have a wonderful holiday season!!