Today…

I graduated!!!


It’s been a long time coming and it is finally, finally, finally here!





At this moment, there’s no better feeling than that of being an Oklahoma State University Alum.


I couldn’t have done it without all the support I’ve had from family and friends over the years. Thank you all!

MOH Chronicles: Conclusion

Whew! I made it through my first ever stint as a bridesmaid. The wedding was beautiful. The weather was beautiful, but most of all Jesse was beautiful.

Here's that veil I stressed over so much. All I can say is Jesse made it look like a million bucks!

Just before putting on the dress. You would think they (whoever they are) would make those things easier to get on! My mom and I had to hold that puppy open from both ends to get Jesse in there without messing up her hair. I do believe that was the hardest job I've ever had.

Here we are together. She's so beautiful!

Excuse me while I go grab a tissue...

...Ok, I'm back.

Showing her sass.

So sweet.

My mom took most of these with my camera. When I showed her this one she said, "how cool am I? I totally made that sun thing happen on purpose!" She's so cute. :-)

Dancing with her "little" brother.

Speaking of "little" brothers...is there some unwritten rule that they must be taller than us? And do they have to start acting like our "big" brothers once they are? Bossing us around like it's their job?

Gorgeous girl.

The flowers were fabulous if I do say so myself, and I do.

These are my two favorite pictures of me. Is it weird that they're both of my back?

Jesse-

You were the most beautiful bride I have ever seen. I am honored that you chose me to share your special day. I only wish I could have done more. Our friendship has been going strong for over a decade and what a great decade it has been! From Darren's Dance Grooves to watching Crossroads a million times to singing at the top of our lungs to the silliest of songs, we've been together through it all. We've laughed, we've cried, we've yelled, we've complained, we've hugged, and we've loved. I can't imagine living my life without you. Here's to many more decades as BFFs.

I will love you always.

-Amanda

Photo by Bess Watts

(I'll post pictures besides Jesse and me later.)

Waiting

Warning! This is a live, happening this instant blog post!
I'm stuck in my friends house and I can't get out. I could leave. It's not like I'm chained to the couch or anything, but I don't think it would be kosher to leave their door unlocked just so I can go home. That would be rude, right?
So, while I sit here pondering the meaning of life, who discovered bacon, and why anyone thinks I believe them when they claim to like lettuce I thought I would share a photo.
I don't remember where they post on these mobile posts, but I think it's at the top so scroll back up for a second and check that baby out!
First, I would like to say "WOW!" Second, I wonder how many bottles of wine someone had to drink to make that monstrosity, and third, why didn't they call me to help?



Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Playing Pretend

Remember when you were little and you played Pretend? I hope you played it. I hope I'm not the only one. Surely I'm not. I mean, what kid doesn't have imagination? What kid doesn't create their own world to live in on a daily basis? Wait, what? You have to be a kid to do that?

I might need to make an appointment with someone in the medical field...

Anyway, whether you did it as a kid or if you're like me and you never quite grew out of it, playing Pretend is all kinds of fun. And the best part? It's free! I love free. It's the best price for anything next to 2 bucks.

These days when I play Pretend, I like to pretend I'm a famous photographic wonder of marvelousness. I mystify people with my genius. My photos adorn the covers of numerous largely read magazines. I am, in a word, awesome.

In reality, I'm just a girl with a camera. A camera I bought myself for my un-birthday. A camera I love. A camera I sleep with at night. Kidding, kidding! The camera has his...her...his...I don't know it's gender...own bed.

Sunday afternoon, I loaded up my genderless camera and my momma so we could head on over to my dear friend, Tienna's, house.

{Side note}... Does the phrase "head on over" make me sound completely Okie or just mildly? Is it a phrase used in any other part of the country or just around these parts? People (read: my momma, my daddy, and my BFF Jesse) like to make fun of me all the time. What about, you ask? Well, luckily I'm here to tell you. They make fun of the way I talk. (I'm pretty sure I pronounce the word talk like this: tallck, but that's neither here nor there.)

I will now educate you on what I like to call Amanda-ese

Pink = Paynk
Green = Grayn
Seat belt = Seatbayult
Deal = Dill (this is Jesse's favorite. She's always making me say Dill or no Dill.)
Help = Hayulp

There are more, but I'm sure you're becoming bored and have forgotten what I was really talking about before I became sidetracked. I'm always getting sidetracked.

We are now back to our regularly scheduled programming!

As I was saying, my genderless camera, my momma, and I headed on over to my dear friend, Tienna's, house Sunday afternoon. Tienna was having a Fourth of July gathering and she asked if I would take some pictures of her family and friends. Being all about using random people as guinea pig models for my budding Pretend photographic genius, I of course, said heck yeah! See ya there!

A couple of hours in the 100+ degree OK heat, a few bottles of water, and 300 or so pictures later I wanted to take a nap, but did I? No! I went off to my own Fourth of July shindig where I proceeded to drink 9,162 glasses of Sangria before the clouds with the cool breezes came in and dropped the temperature by 20 degrees. Yippee!

After all of that, I looked back through the 300 or so pictures and picked out the handful I was happy with, and because I'm all about sharing anything and everything, here they are for your viewing pleasure.

And remember, I'm a Pretend famous photographic genius. Ok? Just let me believe it. It helps me sleep at night.

How stinkin' cute are these socks??? I wonder if they come in my size?

This is Tienna with her nephew, CJ and her niece, Riley (I hope I spelled that correctly because we all know I said it like some backwoods Okie...)

This little cutie did NOT want to be taking pictures. At all. But I didn't let that bother me. I'm untouchable behind the lens. It's like a barrier between me and the world. Nothing can bring me down.

Where his sister seemed to hate the camera, this little cutie LOVED it!

Tienna with her husband, Tony.

I love this one.

But this is my fave. I love catching people mid laugh.

Tienna with her daughter, Charlotte. Furry kids are the best. I might not say that if I had any children of the non-furry variety, but I don't so I can say without a doubt in my mind that furry kids are the best.

What a patriotic family! It was so nice of them all to wear all of that face paint and dye their clothes and the ground. What a way to show your love for the USA!

I'm so funny, I crack myself up.

I have to go now.

I have to make a car payment for my brother. The lazy bum.

Then I have to go home and Pretend I'm an astronaut who flies lawnmowers instead of spaceships.

Pretend, folks. It'll get you through the day better than that coffee stuff. But maybe not as well as some nice, crispy bacon.

Birthday Girl

Last month my small friend, Corinne, turned the big 2. I have such a hard time with gifts for little ones. I prefer to make my gifts, but what could I make for a 2 year old? In the end I decided to make something that would be more for her parents and a nice memory instead of buying a toy.

I agonized for days. Being a perfectionist is hard, grueling work. ;-)

I thought about decorating a picture frame, but the idea didn't excite me much. Then I thought what if I made a collage she and her family could keep forever? Something that would capture this moment in her life?

The next day I sent a text to Eric, Corinne's dad, asking for a recent photo.

It's almost like he was reading my mind because the picture he sent was perfect!

This is my end result...

I think it turned out fabulously! Corinne probably won't care much about it until she's older, but her parents were teary eyed. I would say that's a mission accomplished.

Since I had such a cute gift I couldn't just put it in any old bag or box.

So...I made one. Well, I didn't make the bag, I bought it, but I did Amanda-ize it.

The pinwheel was Corinne's favorite part for sure. It was my favorite too...good thing I kept one for myself!

This kid sure loves water. In fact, I believe she's using her tote bag to haul all her loot to swimming lessons.

Uh oh! Apparently organic chap stick isn't all that tasty. I'm glad my gift didn't earn this reaction. Ha!

Confession From a TP Queen

I really like this picture. Because it's glittery and it has an owl on it and that Pinot was DEE-LISH-US.

This picture has absolutely nothing to do with what I'm going to write about today, but I like it so I'm sharing. Seriously? Who wouldn't like glittery owl Pinot's?



I have a confession to make.

I know I've already told you on many occasions that I'm quite weird. Well, what I'm about to tell is going to make you believe with every fiber of your bean...I mean being that I'm the weirdest person ever.

I am a toilet paper snob.

There, I said it.

I'm a snotty, snotty, snob when it comes to toilet paper. I mean seriously snobby. So much so that I've considered on more than one occasion carrying my own roll in my purse.

{Side Note} - Speaking of my purse...

Is this not one of the most gorgeous specimens of the purse family you have ever seen? This, folks, is my very first Kate Spade (sitting with a peach bellini slushy thingy that was quite tasty). I named her Delilah as soon as I took her out of the box. She just called to me, "Delilah, call me Delilah."

Jesse and Stephanie gave her to me as a Maid of Honor gift. All I've got to say about that is they give some rockin' gifts! Wowza!

Oh, and thank you, thank you, thank you times a million, trillion, gazillion!!! I love you girls!

Delilah's guts. Just as gorgeous as her skin. And so flawless too. I wonder if she moisturizes?


I'm such a digresser.

Ok, so back to my toilet paper snobbery.

I really want to carry a roll in my purse, but they're just so big, you know? Since I can't possibly carry around some huge old roll of TP I use what's out there as painful as it is. I mean this literally. Who invented TP that's about as soft as a piece of sandpaper? And who invented that stuff that's so thin and crisp it's like tissue paper used for wrapping gifts? In fact, I should start buying that stuff for wrapping, it would definitely be cheaper.

Anyway, I only purchase one brand and I never ever, ever, ever deviate. Quilted Northern. It's the bomb (do people still say that?). Not too soft, not too crispy. It's just right. I also use it as Kleenex because I'm way too cheap to buy a box of the stuff. Besides QN has the perfect softness and strength for nose blowing.

But here's the deal...last week when I was in New York, everywhere I went had thin and crispy TP! It was like a plague. I didn't know what to do. It was rough, I tell you! I tried blowing my nose with that stuff and I'm pretty sure I got a paper cut in my nostril, and we all know how I feel about paper cuts.

I'm so happy to be home with my QNTP (Quilted Northern Toilet Paper for those of you who haven't been paying attention) I can't even explain the happiness I feel or that my nostril feels. It's priceless, really.

I have to say, though, that I still love my New Yorkians...New Yorkers...Yorkiteers? Whatever. I love each and every one of them. Well, the handful that I actually know. What I'm trying to say is yes, I'm a TP snob, but I won't hold the crispy stuff against them. Especially since they gave me Delilah.

Another unrelated photo to help you clear your mind of images of my nostril getting a paper cut.

I have no clue what happened here. I held up a wine glass to a window, I was way to close with my 50mm lens, I released the shutter, and BAM! Crazy, weird, super cool, glittery, blurry, strange wine glass art. I think I'll keep it.

Home

Is there really anything better than being home? Besides coming home after you've been away?

My week in upstate New York was fabulous as always, but being home just makes me feel complete.

I could most definitely do without the 95 degree heat, though. Give me some good ole early Summer New York weather any day!

While I was gone I shot somewhere around 2000 pictures. I'm not sure if that's a lot or a little. I'm new to this whole fancy camera photography stuff, but I felt like for a 6 day visit 2000 was just about right. Besides, out of all of those shots I only love two and  really like about 10 or so. Maybe I'm picky?

I read somewhere between a million and a gazillion photography blogs in order to learn anything and everything I can about lighting, composition, and anything really, but what I wonder the most is if the pictures I take are only good to me. I'm sure they're not anywhere near being technically perfect (especially the ones I'm posting today since after all the resizing and transferring from place to place they seem to be a lot less crisp), but I guess if I like them then that's all that really matters.

Anyway, before I get too long winded with all of the life questions I ask myself everyday...sometimes out loud. What?! There's no one around to hear me. At least I don't think there is. Oh, geez, there I go again..

For real this time, I'm done rambling...
Here are the handful of pictures I like from my week in New York. I might even frame a couple. Gasp!

This is an office building. Can you believe that? Crazy, I know. I like this one because well, I just do.

This is the same exact building from the other side but instead of shooting into the sun, the sun was behind me. I like how different they look. I also like how close I was standing and the angle I was holding my camera. Cool beans if I do say so myself.

Jesse and Stephanie, the pepples (yes I said pepples) I was visiting. Cute, cute!

This is my favorite shot of Stephanie besides the one above. Her glasses were falling down like that all day long. Silly girl!

Ah, Jesse, what a gorgeous girl. I really like this one. She looks sweet and sophisticated. I think this was her favorite of all them since she immediately made it her Facebook profile picture after I took them off my camera. Ha!

Now, this is my favorite shot of Jesse. I like the two above as well, but this is how I see here when I think of her. Carefree, happy, and dancing. Always dancing.

This is Stephanie's sister, Mary. I would kill to have her legs. I don't know what I was doing on this day when I all of a sudden said, "hey, stand there just like that with your hands on your hips and don't move!" She probably thought I was a nut!

Who doesn't love an old Ford?

I referred to this as "The Hippie Winery" all weekend. It was super fun!

Finally, one of the two shots I absolutely, positively love, love, love. For this one I also said, "hey, stop right there! Don't move! Move your hand to the left some! Yeah, like that...now don't move. Just hold on a second." Once again, I'm sure there were some "she's a nut" thoughts going around...

This is my FAVORITE!!! And you know what? It was a total accident. I was standing there taking pictures of bubbles not really paying attention to anything when Gabby walked behind them. I think it's super dreamy and amazing. :-)

But I can't decide if I like it better in it's original state or like this...

I think it looks a little dreamier this way.

I wonder if all of my favorites will be "accidents?"



Aren't you glad I didn't show you 2000 pictures? I sure am! A lot of them were atrocious anyway. Like the ones with me in them. Ha!

I loved New York, but it's so good to be home!