michelelaw

Stationery card

2011-11-27T21:39:00.001-06:00

Inky Chic Pink Birth Announcement

Shutterfly has cute baby announcements and Valentine's Day cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

Moved

2011-10-16T17:39:00.000-05:00

I have moved blogging over to beingthelaws.wordpress.com.

Come check it out

New position!

2011-06-27T20:04:00.004-05:00

I have just found out that I have been chosen to do a rotation as a Senior Specialist at my job! This means I will be going to the next position up for at least 90 days. I am going to get opportunities to train, teach, and coach which will give me a good boost into a full time training position or a manager position. So exciting!

We have Cora's crib all put together and we are just waiting on a mattress. We have letters to go above her crib and I can't wait to get her room more put together. I will post pictures when it is finished!

It's a GIRL!

2011-06-18T17:54:00.003-05:00

We had our 20 week anatomy ultrasound this week and found out we are having a girl! She is very healthy and still on schedule for delivery on November 2nd. Her name will be Cora. We don't have a middle name yet but we are certain on Cora. We can't wait to meet her! Now...how do I avoid everyone buying pink! Lets think purple, green, yellow, orange....anything but pink! I know I can't get away from all things pink but I am going to try my hardest!

Expecting!

2011-04-24T16:53:00.005-05:00

We found out shortly after my brother-in-law's wedding that we are expecting our first little one in November!

Here is Baby Law at 8 weeks.

Here is Baby Law at 12 weeks.

Everything has gone smoothly so far. I haven't been too sick. I have had enough days of pure exhaustion and plenty of nausea but I haven't been that sick.

We did move last week and are settling in. We just moved into a 2 bedroom place so we will actually have room the Baby when he/she comes!

Pictures from the Wedding Weekend

2011-03-04T08:27:00.012-06:00

Wedding went off great! Here is a picture of me and the awesome best man (my husband) and the rest are just a few taken here and there!

Working Out/Cleansing

2011-02-18T17:52:00.003-06:00

I have really started working out again and it feels so great! I have been using RunKeeper and DailyMile to keep track of my work out so if you happen to use either, look me up. We also are currently doing a quick cleanse to really start watching our gluten intake. Being gluten free has made such a difference for both of us.

Schedule change is coming up tomorrow. I will starting a 4x10 shift instead of the normal 5x8. I will work Saturday and Monday-Wednesday 8-7. I thought it was time to give it try. I hope that I don't regret it!

We have my Brother-in-Law's wedding this next weekend and hopefully I will have some photos to post from that!

Gluten Free

2011-01-21T20:33:00.004-06:00

I have gone gluten free! Celiac disease is why most people go gluten free. Celiac disease is a malabsorption issue, but is most off called a wheat allergy. It is definitely more than just a wheat allergy. You can look on the web and find a ton of different symptoms, in fact onewebsite I was stated that there were over 250 symptoms of have Celiac which is why most people don't even know that they have it.

I have not been diagnosed with having it but I could relate to a lot of the symptoms, one which is numbness is hands and feet. I have struggled with my feet going to sleep on and off for about 5 years. I have been gluten free since the beginning of the year with a few "cheat" days that I regretted after a few hours. I feel so different, and I mean that as in AWESOME, when I am eating gluten free.

I could see how even a few years ago it would have been very difficult to eat gluten free. I think that going gluten free is much easier since living in Austin. Having a different diet or a special needs diet here is no surprise and there are many places that cater to them.

This has been a lifesaver for use! We have also found that Betty Crocker also has gluten free brownie and cookies mixes that have been awesome. We have tried so many different items trying to keep our options open, so we have had some good and we have had some bad. I am still looking for a good hamburger bun though! Overall though going gluten free hasn't been bad.

I am hoping to update here with any great recipes or websites that I come across.

Christmas 2010

2011-01-14T21:38:00.003-06:00

The whole family at Christmas!

Terrible Blogger

2010-12-03T08:46:00.003-06:00

I am a terrible blogger and that is really all I have to say. I have never been able to be consistent in writing in a journal so I am not sure why I thought I would be good at keeping a blog. But I am once again to start again. My goal is to put something up on the blog just 1 time per week. I think that is doable. With that being said I am pretty sure this will be my post for the week.

We do have a lot that is upcoming. I will be traveling back home to Groom for a Christmas party, we are beginning to workout again which normally comes with cooking again, and of course we will have Christmas to celebrate as well.

All Things New

2010-09-08T15:16:00.003-05:00

We have had so much going on lately. New jobs, new schedules, and adjusting to a very different life of 2 full time "real" jobs. I am loving what the future is looking like for us. We have many decisions to make now that we have only dreamed of previous. Buying a house, having a baby, be a stay at home mom or a working mom, create a real full business of my photography or keep it as a hobby, just to name a few.

James is now working for the same company as I am and is loving it. I love that he is loving it. I think that has been a big fear for both of us, that he would get into a job that he didn't enjoy. I am got a promotion and I am working in a different group but doing the same job...well almost. I am supporting a new product and I am still learning the ins and outs of it and I am having to change how I do my job because what I do is now read

directly by pretty important people instead of just fellow agents. It has been a good change of pace, but I am ready to know the product backwards and forward so I can feel "comfortable" again.

I have had a few scheduled photo shoots recently and I have been working on my off camera flash photography. I need more practice with the off camera flash. Looking for ways to expand and hopefully have photography to fall back on so I can be a stay at home mom photographer instead of just a stay at home mom (when the time comes).

Until next time, here is a new favorite of James and Dagny!

New Five Squared Photography Post

2010-07-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

Check it out!

http://tiny.cc/f1wvk

Hybrid Burgers

2010-04-27T19:11:00.003-05:00

Another recipe from the Taste of Home Simple and Delicious. Very Delicious indeed!

3/4 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained

1 egg white

1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 cup finely chopped sweet red pepper

1 tsp. chili powder

1/2 tsp. onion powder

1/2 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 lb. ground turkey

1 Tbsp. olive oil

In a small bowl, coarsely mash beans. Add the egg white, zucchini, red pepper, chili powder, onion powder, pepper and salt. Crumble the turkey over mixture and mix well. Shape into four patties.

In a large skillet, cook burgers in oil over medium heat fro 4-5 minutes on each side or until the meat thermometer reads 165 degrees and juices run clear. Serve on buns.

Chicken Asparagus

2010-04-26T20:14:00.002-05:00

This recipe is just fantastic! I got it from Taste of Home Simple and Delicious. You should give it a try!

1 lbs. fresh asparagus, trimmed

1/4 tsp. salt, divided

1/8 tsp. pepper, divided

1/4 cup white wine or chicken broth

2 Tbsp. butter, melted

4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (5 oz. each)

1 cup (4 oz.) shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Place asparagus in a greased 11-in. x 7-in. baking disk. Sprinkle with 1/8 tsp. salt and a dash pepper. In a small bowl, combine wine and butter; pour over asparagus.

Arrange chicken over asparagus; sprinkle with remaining salt and pepper. Bake, uncovered., at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese, bake 5-10 minutes longer or until chicken juices run clear and cheese is melted.

Lentil Burgers

2010-03-22T08:52:00.003-05:00

I tried this recipe while we had friends over and it turned out terrible. Tried it again and they were much better. Still could use more spices in the burger.

Ingredients
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup water
3 cups cooked lentils, mashed
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
3/4 cup bread crumbs
salt to taste
oil for frying
Preparation:
Cook the onion and carrot in the water until tender, about ten minutes.
Drain off excess water, then combine the onion and carrot with the remaining ingredients except oil.
Form into patties and fry in a lightly oiled frying pan until browned on both sides and heated through, about ten minutes.

Cleansing

2010-03-07T12:11:00.003-06:00

If you remember back last April James and I did a cleanse. I lost I think 12 lbs. We are cleansing again starting tomorrow. Last time we had no idea how hard it was going to be for us. We were not prepared at all. We were not vegetable eaters at all except for a few baby carrots and "fixings" on burger. The first 11 days are fruit and vegetable only, and you have to have twice as many vegetables than fruit. That was hard. We ate a lot of salsa and were very happy to get emails with recipes in them. We found out that we liked spaghetti squash and we had a great recipe for roasted broccoli. We also found out that we can make great salads.
This time we are more prepared. We have a whole weeks worth of meals/recipes ready to go! We have found a few substitutes that will allow us to have food we otherwise could not have. I am very excited about this! I know that I am going to feel so good in the end. We are also going to be training for the Cap10K during this cleanse so we are going to have to be careful that we are getting enough food/calories/protein to fuel us during our runs as they are already getting much longer than I am used to.
You can follow my run training on my side bar from dailymile. You can also join dailymile.com to track your own training. We can spur each other on!

Parmesan Chicken Breasts

2010-03-02T20:30:00.002-06:00

I have started a 60 day challenge recently that I have set goals to do daily, weekly, and monthly. One of the things that I am doing weekly is try 1 new recipe. I am going to share my new recipe and hopefully a picture. I didn't take a picture this time but hopefully I will be sharing a picture each week.

Todays recipe came from 15~Minute Low~Carb Recipes by: Dana Carpender

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless check breast

1 cup grated Parmesan cheese*

4 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp pepper

2 eggs

4 tbsp butter

* Use the cheap stuff in the round, green shaker for this.

Pound the chicken breasts till they're 1/4 inch thick, and cut into 6 portions. Set aside.

Combine the cheese with the oregano, garlic, paprika, and pepper on a plate. On another plate or in a shallow bowl, beat the eggs. Dip the chicken in the egg and then the cheese mixture, coating both sides well.

Melt the butter in a heavy skillet over medium-low heat ( higher heat will scorch the cheese), and saute for 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

This was great!

Saunders

2010-01-23T18:44:00.003-06:00

My good friends and I went out to Cauble Farms for a short photo shoot. Here is what I came out with.

Winter 2009 in the Panhandle

2010-01-05T20:50:00.005-06:00

This is my December post just a little late. We spent 4 full days in Groom this Christmas vacation and it snowed 2 of those days. It was beautiful! Living in Austin has warmed my blood to much to really enjoy the snow that much. I did build a snowman though. I will save you from seeing that.

Miller Family

2009-11-22T20:21:00.007-06:00

T & S Christian

2009-10-15T22:18:00.005-05:00

Catching up in pictures

2009-09-23T16:14:00.005-05:00

James and I went on vacation and now I am looking forward to getting back started with my photography. Goal is to have at least 1 photo shoot per month to post here on my blog. Until I get my first shoot here are some pictures from Hawaii!

At the botanical gardens on the North Shore.

At the black sand beach on the Big Island and a garden we were at.

At a garden on the Big Island and here is the view from the balcony of my friends condo the first morning.

Amanda gave us Leis as we got there and here are Green Turtles sunbathing on the North Shore

In front of Waimea falls and on the Black Sand beach

Not sure what crater this is but it is still steaming from an explosion in Feburary and Rainbow Falls.

Hanging at the beach and waiting for our Luau

They have these awesome trees called Banyan trees. The largest one is in Maui and fills an entire city block!

Hobby

2009-07-01T22:20:00.004-05:00

James has a new hobby! That is one of the things that I posted about a long time ago(click here to see.) I am so excited that he has finally found something that he can do that is fun and productive! James is getting into guitar pedal making! His first pedal is a mute pedal that will allow him to mute his computer while up on stage. I am so excited for him! Here is a picture from the phone. I will soon get a better one!

Update

2009-06-29T21:48:00.003-05:00

It has been over 2 months since my last blog post. I have never been good at keeping things up to date. I figure that this can be an update over the last few months and I can start fresh after that.

My last post was about the Standard Process Cleanse. Since the beginning of that cleanse I have lost 17.2 pounds. James and I have also been doing P90X doubles. The double part of P90X that we have been doing has been running. We are training for a 10K. We have no race planned because we are finishing the training when there are no races in the area. It will still be Triathlon season. After doing the 10K training we will see about doing a 1/2 marathon during the winter sometime. Doing running and P90X has been exciting but very time consuming. I feel so much better when I am working out but sometimes the workouts are very overwhelming. I love P90X. I must say that although we have tried to do P90X on multiple occasions I still cannot ever get close to doing a pull-up.

I was promoted at Apple and I am enjoying the job. I am learning something new every single day that I am there. I am looking forward trying to learn UNIX so that I can be more proficient in Terminal and begin to learn even more about the operating system.

James began traveling for the summer so I have had a lot of time by myself at home. To take up that time we have started to read the Harry Potter series. Currently I am on the Order of the Phonenix. The next book is the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which comes out on July 15, 2009. I am hoping to get through that book before I see it in theater. The later books are not as similar to the movies as the first in the series. The books have been much better as they almost always are.

I am also reading the The Shack again with the community group/house church that we have been attending when my schedule allows. I love this book! It explains things in such different terms sometimes. I recommend this book to everyone!

I am hoping to get back into the photography scene again as well. I have let that slip through the cracks with working and working out. Let me know if you are interested in setting up some time for pictures and practice!

Cleanse

2009-04-18T22:41:00.003-05:00

On April 10, 2009 my husband and I started the Standard Process Purification Cleanse as recommended by our chiropractor Dr. Ryan Osborne. It is a 21 day cleanse to rid your body of toxins. When it comes to eating we have never really been that healthy and rarely if ever bought organic food. All that began to slowly change in October of 2007. I was at my heaviest weight and decided to do something about it. I began training for a Sprint Tri and was successful at finishing. Since then we have become much more active. I have participated in one other sprint tri, 5K, and gone through the P90X. We are looking forward to either a 10K or 1/2 marathon in the fall. Our diet was slowly changing during this process but never really enough. This cleanse has had us soley on fruits, vegetables, and their shakes for the past 9 days. All foods, or at least most, have been organic. What a change! I felt pretty crummy the first few days but I am now reaping the benefits! I have more energy, sleeping much better, and most of all I have seen 7.2lbs. in weight loss!
I have learned a lot about myself in this process so far. I am going through a transition right now at work which is causing me a little bit of stress due to the unknowns. I have found out that during stressful situations or just a bad day I am such an emotional eater. I had a hard time on those days fight away the cravings. I made it through those days and know better for the next time to not to go to the food because it is not going to make my day any less stressful or make me feel better. I have been very addicted to carbs and sugar. I have done well without sodas and can probably keep not having those, but the bread and candy I am struggling with. I love those two things. Obviously to much!
Vegetable do not have to taste bad! We have been trying many new recipes and have loved all but one. We are planning to continue having them once we are off the cleanse. They say that it takes 21 days to create a habit and that is how long this cleanse is. I am hoping that we are creating good eating/cooking habits. In all the time that we have been working out we have never truly focused on the diet and been able to keep to it. Now we have a few tools my hope is to complete P90X again with our new eating habits and watch the pounds melt away to show all the muscle that we have built and are building!

Family

2009-04-05T20:17:00.003-05:00

These three items were all given to me by family. The gold heart necklace was given to me when I was two by my Grandandy Elbert DeLozier, who is my Mom's grandfather. My Mom has one exactly like this. When I was talking with my Mom she told me that she thinks her mom, so my Grandmother, has one as well. My Grandandy apparently gave them his girls. The ring was given to me by, my Dad's mom, Granny. The ring was her mothers. In my bathroom at home I have pictures of the three of us all about the same age, I was a senior in high school. The earrings belonged to my Aunt Lenora. She was married to my Mom's brother. She died in 1993, I think, of a heart attack. My uncle gave these to me after her death. The only other real diamonds I have other than my wedding rings. All these items were given in love. I often forget about these items because I safely store them away so I don't lose them. I did however where the ring on my wedding day as my something blue.

My Two Favorites

2009-03-20T21:04:00.002-05:00

My favorite person in my favorite place to hang out.

Things to do

2009-03-07T23:22:00.002-06:00

A college roommate inspired to make a list of things I wanted to do in life. She had about 50 things on her list and they were all to do by the time she was 30. Her list was always changing though. I started this list back in 2002 or so I think. I have taken a few item off and I have added quite a few. I hope to continue to check items off and add things to this list. I always wanted to have the 100 Top Books of the Modern Library read by the time I was 30. I am about to turn 26 and still have 59 books left. Some of them are trilogies so maybe even a few more than 59.
I didn't have much else to blog about so I thought I would share. If you are interested I can send out the list of books that I am reading off of.

My List

Masters Degree - not sure in what
Monster Truck Finals in Vegas with my Dad
Go sky diving
Scuba Dive in the Grand Caymen
Go on a live-a-board
Go on a long mission trip
Read the top 100 books of the modern library
Go to Disney World
Tour Europe
Go to candy school
Take a photography class**Have taken the One Light seminar: only kinda counts
Take an art class: drawing/painting/graphic arts
Learn to swing and salsa
Pottery class
Learn to play the guitar well
Learn to play the drums
Ride horses in Montana
Own New Car**Done 2008 Scion XB
Go to New York/Broadway
Go on a Cruise
Vacation in Australia
Summer camp counselor**Done: Summer 2004 Hidden Falls Ranch
Learn to surf**Going to Hawaii in August--Thanks Amanda
Read the top 100 classic books
Ride/Drive a jet ski**I have done this once but I am not satisfied
Learn to snow board
Lounge on the beach**Going to Hawaii in August--Thanks Amanda!
Ride motorcycles/motocross
Participate in a long bike race
Participate in a 5K/10K/and half marathon**Have done 5K: going to do 10K or 1/2 in October
Participate in a dualthon
Participate in a sprint/olympic triathlon**Have done 2 sprints but want to do them once I am in better shape
Run a 10 minute mile
Learn to speak another language

Dentist

2009-02-20T15:19:00.003-06:00

I have never liked going to the dentist. My first experiences at the dentist were not too bad I guess. I remember playing the waiting room with all the toys and getting a sucker when I was done. I had two teeth pulled. I thought that the tooth fairy would bring me extra money because I had the tooth and the root. No such luck though. The teeth were still worth the same amount. When I was in 5th or 6th grade I got braces. I had always wanted them, but once I got them I hated them. It was hard to floss and when they adjusted them it hurt so much.
Once I had my braces taken off.....5 years later my teeth were in pretty bad shape. I had never really had cavities before braces and once they were off I had a plethora of them. I had my first root canal when I was 18. I had to have it redone when I was 20 because the dentist missed an extra root that I had. Since then I have had multiple root canals, crowns, and fillings. I fill like I am being tortured when I go to the dentist. The sounds, smells, and looks of everything in the dentist office scares me.
My three most recent dentist/specialist have had TVs hooked up in the office so you can watch TV while they grind away at your teeth and what not. I am ready to be able to go in for a cleaning and be told your teeth look great! Then I will be able to enjoy the TVs.
All this is brought about because I had a crown and a few fillings on at the first of the year. I began have major sensitivity issues and a lot pain on the back right side of my jaw. My dentist booked me for my next appointment to have a few more fillings done, but it was about a month away. I though I would be able to make it through. I could not handle the pain. I could not sleep, eat, or even breath without it hurting. They began running some cold tests and all I could do was cry. I felt so dumb for crying. They sent me on over to a root canal specialist who told me I would need two root canals done.
We got one done and it seems to be doing great. The other tooth is now infected and is causing all sorts of problems. I have been taking Vicodin, Advil, and Amoxicillin to try and take care of the infection and pain. It seems the more I go to the dentist the more I don't like them. Not to mention how expensive they are!

P90X

2009-02-06T21:25:00.003-06:00

I am finishing up week four of P90X for the second time. I have not seen as much weight loss this time but I can feel a difference in my muscles. This round has been a lot more fun and I can't wait to start the second month. We will take pictures and measurements on Sunday. I can't say I am really looking forward to seeing the numbers. In all the blogs that I have read it seems like the first month is all for building your base muscle and then the second month you start to lose weight. For the most part I feel better about myself and that is really all that matters. I know that taking care of your body is one of the most important things that I can do. Knowing that I am doing that makes me feel accomplished. I have also start using the Loseit program on the iPhone. Not a perfect application but great for what I am looking for. It allows you to track calories will very little work and also helps you set goals and know when you will achieve them. I have only started using the application a few days ago, but I think it is going to be an invaluable resource to me losing weight. I have set a goal weight and if I can lose just 1 pound a week I will be done at the end of June. Then I can work on maintaining. At this point in time I feel like 1 pound a week is not that much to ask of myself. I think I will be able to acheive this with P90X and a healthy diet.
I know this is a little long winded and not about much but it is what I have been thinking about the past week or so.
I am nervous about learning a brand new set of excercises but I am looking forward to it at the same time. I can't wait to see what kind of results I can get from a healthy diet and hard work without having to go the gym!

New

2009-01-17T21:10:00.003-06:00

New equipment, new site, and new name! I have purchased and have received some new equipment to help out with my hopes and dreams of one day helping support my family with photography. I have finally decided on a name as well. FiveSquaredPhotography
I have purchased the name on the web and so I have a small and very unfinished website up with pictures. http://www.fivesquaredphotography.com Today I did a small shoot with the Christian family to test out the new equipment. I was extremely happy with the results. I couldn't help but post a lot of the pictures. I couldn't pick just 1 or 2. Sorry if it is overwhelming!

I've Been Tagged!

2009-01-09T10:51:00.008-06:00

I was tagged in the picture game.The object of the picture tag is to:
1) Choose the 4th folder where you store your pictures on your computer.
2) Select the 4th picture in the folder.
3) Explain the picture.
4) Tag 4 people to do the same.
No cheating (cropping, editing, etc.) Have fun!!!
Everyone else has a cute picture of their kids or of themselves and this is what I have. I feel a little ripped off. Oh well, here is the story.
This is our first Scion XB that was obviously in a wreck summer of 2007. I was driving to Amarillo with my Mom to look at new cars for her and for some reason I was driving my car and she was driving hers. I was following her and a semi pulled in between us. We drove for a mile or so and after that it gets real fuzzy. The next thing I know I am right up on the semi's trailer and so I jam on my brakes. I don't seem to slow down and I really start to panic. I was attached the the semi's trailer. I put my car in neutral because I can't do anything else and I continue to push the brake as hard as I can. The semi finally pulls away from me taking my front bumper with him. Apparently the semi had changed lanes but then without looking came back into my lane. I had already moved up enough for him to grab my bumber and latch on. I don't think that he even knew it happened. We had called 911 and they looked through all the road leaving Amarillo and found no semi with my bumper attached and we never did find the bumper. I was not injured and made it out fine. The car was said to be a total loss. Sinc this is a sad picture I am attaching picture of the morning of the accident because I had just hand wash and waxed the car as well a picture of the new car that we got after this.

Tagging Jennie, the Bean family,Kayla, and Casey.

Family History

2008-12-26T18:08:00.007-06:00

I went exploring at my parents home in Groom today and found a lovely old truck hanging around. It belongs to my Uncle Kenny but originally was owned by Grandandy (my great grandfather Elbert DeLozier.)

Holiday Season

2008-12-19T23:20:00.003-06:00

James and I met the crowds head on today as we finished up our Christmas shopping. It has not felt like the same ol' Christmas season to me this year. Normally I love going out dealing with all the people finding the great deals and doing all the other things associated with getting ready for Christmas. This year I find myself wanting to be around family so much. I don't get to see my family but 2 maybe 3 times a year and that does not include my brother. I only see my brother once a year. For my family we have gone to drawing names to give presents away instead of giving gifts to everyone. I think this has given my family more time to actually spend Christmas together doing what we should be doing on Christmas and during the holiday......spending time with each other. I remember Christmas used to be all about what I got for Christmas. Now all I want is some good time with my family being thankful for them.
This year it seems like more people are taking a look around and at least giving gifts that can give back. I saw a morning show that gave a listing (not a complete listing) of gift you could buy that would give back. I saw shoes (toms), reusable grocery bags (FEED), childrens laptops(one laptop per child), and a very cool website called goodshop.com. It seems as though we might be back on track with trying to help out those in need again instead of just giving to ourselves.
I am very grateful for the life and family that I was given. If we always acted this way I do think that we might could actually change the world we live in...giving to those who need, who we love, and spending as much time as we can loving those around us!

Being Creative

2008-12-06T14:21:00.011-06:00

The past two weeks have been full of creativity. Way more than I am used to. I have loved it though. I have been doing alot more photography these days and I am grateful for a couple of families who have allowed me some time to take pictures. I have been able to capture of few pictures that I think are real good but I still have ALOT to learn. I also have tried coming up with a "business name" for my pictures to go under. I still don't know for sure if what I have come up with will be final or if anyone will even pronounce it right. I am hopeful though. I have also had a cake to make. My friend Donna is having a baby in January and I was given the task of making the cake. I have had since the middle of October to decide what to do. It was a hard task to do. I finally came up with an idea and my practice cake came out okay, but the final cake did not turn out the same way. I had to make a few adjustments but I think that the final cake came out better than my vision. I have loved all the opportunities I have had and hope to have more. It gives me hope that perhaps one of these days James and I can have kids and I won't have to go back to work full time at a desk job. Below are a few examples of my pictures and the cake that I made. I would love to have feedback from anyone who reads! You can also view these and other pictures from the shoots at http://gallery.me.com/law.michele . Feel free to check it out!

Camping

2008-11-22T18:08:00.003-06:00

We tried camping on Friday but everything kinda fell through. We got up early and went out to the campground with some friends only to find out that there was a burn ban. Something that we should have looked into in the first place but no one thought of. It was going to be cold so we decided against freezing and ended up in the backyard in the middle of suburbia to cook out and make smores over the fire. There was no camping but the fellowship was great! A smores cooked over a camp fire can also make just about any night fun. I was hoping to get some more great nights shots since we would be out in the open without all the city lights. I have been trying to recreate or even get close to the first night shots that I did about 2 years ago and have not been able to. Hopefully over the Christmas holiday while I am back home I can get some more shots. Here are the ones I took 2 years ago.

Self Portrait

2008-11-15T15:18:00.004-06:00

Newest self portrait. A cold front blew in and almost made it cool enough to feel like late fall.

Trying a new pose

2008-11-01T19:11:00.006-05:00

Trying something new. Not exactly what I wanted but feel pretty good for a rough picture.
Here is another edit I made of the photo.

Seeing Color

2008-10-31T21:56:00.003-05:00

I will being seeing some new color in my life soon! I just recently found out that I will be hired on as an Apple employee instead of being a contact worker! More pay, job security, benefits, discounts, free gym, and the fact that I know that I am capable to do my job. Fantastic! My time spent as a contract with Apple has been quite crazy. I was on the phones for just a few weeks when we were pulled into another group to help with backlogs and then we were put back on the phones. When we were put back on the phones my login and other important items were not working and not all of them working yet. I have not been getting important feedback because of those items not working. I had been assuming that I was doing my job well but not really knowing anything. This job offer has given my a boost in my confidence in my ability to do my job. With the new job (same job but with the good stuff attached) I will get new login information and such which will solve alot of these issues! Currently the Apple on my badge is gray and on November 10th it suddenly have color. I can't wait!

Downtown Round Rock

2008-10-18T22:57:00.007-05:00

James and I went to downtown Round Rock to take a few pictures. I am trying to work on my editing skills and needed some new pictures to work with. I was not really up for taking my own picture so James volunteered. It is really amazing what you can do with a picture if you know what settings to mess with. Might not be the best pictures in the world, but some of them are way better than others I have done. Hopefully I will start doing this more often but have someone other than James to be my model.

I went in for my interview with Apple and it seemed to go great! I received an email asking for information and permission to run a background check on me. I am thinking, along with my other co-workers, that that means I will have the job. We hear that it takes about a week after the background
check to hear anything. So, I am waiting.

P90X is going terrible. The past two weeks have been hard with schedule change and some other things that have come up. We are hoping to get back on track this week. We totally believe in the program but sometimes it is hard to fit anything into the odd hours that I am keeping these day. Shift change is happening the first week or so of November and I am hoping to have an 8-5 shift. Life seems to function better for me in that time frame. So, fingers crossed for the good shift so we can get back on track.

Shack

2008-10-11T21:11:00.002-05:00

I have finally finished this book. I recommend this to everyone! I have done more in depth thinking about my life while reading this book then I think I have done in a VERY long time. I love the perspective. WOW is all I can really say.

PC for Apple

2008-10-10T16:41:00.003-05:00

I finally got a call from Apple! I am going in for an interview on Tuesday the 14th. Pay raise, benefits, and a little job security! I did great during the phone screening and then the recruiter says "you will need to complete a typing test and listening test within 24 hrs on a Windows computer using IE." So in order for me to get a job at Apple I must use a Windows machine. I got the email this morning at 10 am that says " you have 24 hours to complete" and I say to myself, where am I going to find a Windows computer on the Apple campus? I figure that there are many machines that have XP installed using bootcamp so that we could learn how to do that, but no. There are only 3 machines anywhere that I could use and I don't really have full access to them because people are trouble shooting on them. So after I have walked the entire building looking for computers I finally give in and call my good friend Danielle and I will be able to use hers. She is the best! So tonight I will be using Windows machine and Internet Explorer to hopefully get my badge at Apple to do technical support. So odd!

Christmas in October

2008-10-05T21:51:00.002-05:00

We went to the 7:00pm service at The Austin Stone Community Church tonight and it was fantastic. I was not a big fan to start with to be honest. It is a BIG church! Four services of which I am sure they are all as packed as the last service of the day. I have never done well with big churches. To many people for this small town girl! The time of worship (music) was okay, I didn't know the last songs they sang and they didn't do well teaching the song. Then on to the sermon. FANTASTIC! Matt Carter, the pastor, did such a great job. He did not just tell his congregation to go and be the church to the city, but told them the different ways that they could be. Ezra, Nehemiah, and Ester were the examples he gave. Which one are you he asks, then says go and do. Also, you know it is a good sermon when he has a point about Chick-fil-a and the chicken biscuit! At the end of the service they chose to sing 1 particular song that they felt summed up the sermon. Of all songs it was "Oh Holy Night," a Christmas song. I don't recall ever singing anything but the 1st verse, but this time we sang more. It is fantastic! I took the liberty of finding the lyrics on Wikipedia for those of you who have also never sang more than the 1st verse. Enjoy!

O Holy Night

Oh holy night! The stars are brightly shining,

It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.

Long lay the world in sin and error pining,

Till He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angels' voices!

Oh night divine, Oh night when Christ was born;

Oh night divine, Oh night, Oh night Divine.

Led by the light of Faith serenely beaming,

With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.

So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,

Here come the wise men from Orient land.

The King of Kings lay thus in lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friend.

He knows our need, to our weakness is no stranger,

Behold your King! Before Him lowly bend!

Behold your King, Behold your King.

Truly He taught us to love one another;

His law is love and His gospel is peace.

Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;

And in His name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,

Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Hobby

2008-10-04T14:25:00.001-05:00

What is a hobby? I told James he needed to get a hobby and so he started naming off items that could or could not be hobbies. I told him that he was wrong on most of what he said and told him to keep thinking.
hobby 1 |ˈhäbē|
noun ( pl. -bies)
1 an activity done regularly in one's leisure time for pleasure : her hobbies are reading and gardening.
Can a hobby be related to your job? Can a hobby turn into your job? Once your hobby has turned into your job can it still be a hobby?
Currently my hobby is photography. I do it in spurts these days. I would like to get serious about it again and getting another portfolio together. Honestly, I don't want to work Apple for forever and hope to have kids one day. I would stay home with them but would have to have income still. Photography could be a great way to do that. So my hobby would then turn job. Does that mean I would have to get a new hobby? Right now I don't have to worry about this question but I sure hope I will have to in the near future. Until then I will be brushing up my skills. Any suggestions for James?

Childhood Lessons

2008-09-24T22:35:00.002-05:00

I have worked in daycare type of setting taking care of kids for most of my life. One of the lessons that I taught all my kids was to clean up after yourself. You have to clean up the room at the end of the day or throw away your snack stuff and clean the table before you can go play. I always wondered why this was so hard for kids to grasp. I apparently never took my own advise. I have realized in the past few days that I don't think that I really ever learned that lesson. My parents could tell you that I never cleaned my room as a kid. I usually just stuffed the laundry or toys under my bed. Once they got me to make my bed I would sleep on the top of the covers just to avoid making the bed the next morning. I think I learned to be cleaner when I moved to college because I was in such a small space with someone else. I did better but not much. When I moved into my own place by myself it was hard to really keep my new place real clean because no one ever saw it but James and I. I got into some real bad habits. Once we moved to Austin we have always said "this apartment will be different, we will keep it real clean." That has never happened! I decided this past week that the TIME IS NOW to start really keeping things real clean. I have struggled with putting things up once I got them out. I feel like a 2 year old having to sing that terrible song "Clean up, Clean up, everybody everywhere." Good song for a 2 year old but you would think that would be an easy habit to start back up. I hope I pick it back up....or start it soon! I wonder if there are any other lessons that I thought I learned but never did?

Slow Down and Think

2008-09-21T19:34:00.002-05:00

I have realized this week that I just never stop. My schedule runs like this: Get up at 7:00 am, Workout at 8:00am, Shower, Breakfast at 10:30, Leave for work right after 11:00, Come home about 9:00, Finish working out, Bed. For the majority of the days of the week this is my schedule. I have just enough time to see James and that is about it. I finally made it to the end of Saturday which is the first night of my weekend! I did my workout and then I stopped. I took all day on Sunday to do things that I wanted to do. Most of them being unsuccessful but I did. I even made it out to Starbucks for a little reading and journaling. I have been missing out some joyful times by being so busy. Starting right now I am going to slow down. Stop and smell the roses every once in a while. Start enjoying life all over again!

Feeling Old

2008-09-16T22:42:00.002-05:00

Tonight I feel old. I know that 25 isn't old, but my body feels old tonight after the plyo workout for P90X. I think I have felt every single jr. hight, high school, and college injury I ever had. There are two injuries from my past that are haunting me these days. The first is my left knee. I don't even remember when I started having issues with my knees because I was so young. I know that it came to a peak during a high school basketball games where I "jammed" my knee during a rebound. I ended up breaking a little piece of my knee cap off which they ended up cleaning up during a scope of my knee. They also did a little cutting and sewing of my tendons on the sides of my knee. I never really did all the rehab that I should have done and in turn I still have issues with my knee. The other is my right wrist. I don't really use my wrist in plyo but I do in almost all the other videos. I tore the triangle fiber cartilage doing who knows what at summer camp. It was not a problems that could be totally fixed so they did the best they could. I tweak it every once in a while and it hurts. I feel old because I have to reminisce about old injuries because I am now dealing with them all over again. I sure hope to feel young again after I finally gain some more muscle.

3 years and Counting

2008-09-15T15:43:00.003-05:00

James and I recently celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary and I thought I would have a little fun with our rings. The summer before James proposed I was working at Hidden Falls Ranch as a camp counselor. I had the opportunity to hang out with some great people and do alot of great things. Just about every weekend we would go into Amarillo and go hang out. There was one other counselor that had a boyfriend that was steady at the time and they were thinking marriage, so we made several trips to the mall to do some ring shopping. James and I had just really started to get serious at the time so my mind was not on that train of thought , but looking sure was fun. I found a ring that was unique but it didn't have right cut of diamond that I wanted. After being away from each other all summer we decided that fall that this could be it. This relationship could be the one. We spent some time talking and looking at rings for fun. We couldn't decide on the same cut until we found the same ring that I had found that summer. The cut grew on me and I fell in love with it. When James went to go and buy the ring in Lubbock they did not have the ring in the right size. The store in Amarillo did have the ring in the right size and they said they had had the ring for quite a while. We think that I could very possibly have the same ring that I tried on in Amarillo before we were even thinking of marriage. Could be true, might not be. I would like to think so, kinda makes me thing even more that there was no better choice than James for my husband!

DNA Removal

2008-09-13T22:18:00.005-05:00

Finally...the start of my weekend! It has been a long week on the phones for me. I think that I am finally settling back in to the role of phone agent. I must say that I miss my days of MobileMe chat support days. It is easy to take people yelling at you over chat than the phone. You can laugh at the people using ALL CAPS TO SHOW THEIR ANGER OVER NOTHING. It is harder to keep your calm on the phone and not take it personal.
On another note: P90X workouts are going well. We missed yoga and one ab workout. The other work outs are going great though. I started to use the bands for my pull ups which actually allows me to get a workout in. I didn't know that my muscles could be so sore in my back! I think that I am gaining muscle just about everywhere and hopefully losing some inches. I have been pouring sweat after every workout (dna removal as tony horton says) and that is making me feel like I am getting the hand of what he is asking of me.
As for my weekend: I hope to try a new church tomorrow. We haven't really been back to church since the JCB stopped playing there. It is time! I think that we will be going to Hill Country Bible Church but I am going to look into a little more before we head out tomorrow. I hear they do alot of church planting. I am very interested in the dynamic of the church plant. Maybe we can get involved with another plant in the coming days. Also looking forward to some good hang out time with James, we don't get much time together these days unless we are working out. I seem to say that alot.....maybe we should look at our priorities????

Losing!

2008-09-09T18:45:00.002-05:00

I lost 4 pounds during the first week of P90X. It is better than gaining weight and I am pretty happy with that number. The second round of chest and back was real good. I started using the bands for my pull ups instead of using the pull up bar. I am getting a much better workout now! It also allows us to keep the pace up because we are not waiting on each other to finish. I was able to increase my push ups on all but the DiveBombers. Those are just hard! I have to gain some more muscle before I will be able to do those. I missed my morning workout today so I will be doing Plyometrics when I get home from work tonight. I am looking forward to seeing if I gained any muscle from last week.
We had a little bit of a carb heavy meal last night for the first time since we started. Neither James or I slept well and we felt terrible when we woke up. I am going to watch that from now on. I was sleeping so much better.

End of Week 1

2008-09-06T22:04:00.003-05:00

Tomorrow is the end of week 1 of P90X. It has been good. The workouts are hard but I am enjoying the feel of sore muscles. It has been a while since I have felt all the muscles I have. The nutrition part of the plan is not what we were expecting. We are doing a very modified version of the meal plan. We are still going by the portions for the most part but changing some of the food choices. We will be getting on the scale tomorrow but I am not expecting any weight loss. In fact I am readying myself for some weight gain. From other blogs I have read that you don't start losing weight until after the first 3o days. You have to gain muscle before you lose weight.
I am glad we have started this! It has been good to work out again and to work out with James.

Creative Portraits

2008-09-04T10:49:00.007-05:00

I took a self portrait by candle light and thought that it would be great to have a pictures of James as well. Sorry if this is too much skin for you! I think that James' is better but I got to be behind the camera for his and in front for mine with the self timer. I can't tell you how many times I blew that candle out!

Sore Muscles and Crazy Blenders

2008-09-02T18:59:00.003-05:00

We have done 2 full videos and the ab video for P90X as of now. My muscles are sore but I am feeling pretty good. Tired but good. I am not used to having only protein. James and I were/are trying to do the meals just like they want you to, but have found that to be to much food and lots of prep time. The food so far looks good and has tasted okay. Our blender threw soup up all over the kitchen, so it is not a big fan of the food. We are going to look at the nutrition part a little more and see if we can make it fit our schedule and tastes a little more. This is going to be an interesting 90 days though.

Shopping & Day 0 Pictures

2008-09-01T08:39:00.006-05:00

We went shopping for our new menu that goes along with P90X. I have never bought so much food in my life! I am not very familiar with the food that we will be eating. It is a lot of soup and fish. I will spend most of today chopping vegetables and making soup for the rest of the week. Not sure that is how I want to spend a day off but I think it will be worth it in the end.

On another note. We start the program today so we took our day 0 pictures last night. I am not going to be the brave sole that posts those pictures. I don't want to have to look at them until I can show some improvement. We have done the fit test and I passed everything but the pull ups. I can't do any pull ups. I was borderline on the abs but I think I will be just fine.

Off to chopping veggies........

First Post on New Blog

2008-08-29T15:10:00.004-05:00

Starting my blogging days over again. It was just photos before. Hopefully I can put thoughts down, updates on life, and photos this time. I am going start a photo project soon and will have pictures up. The alphabet is my theme. James and I will be starting P90X in the next week and I hope to keep updates on here about that. Till next time.....