Slacker?

I have been just awful at posting on this blog lately, but life has been truly crazy! Between spending as much time with Johnathan as possible now that he is home, outings with my Little Sister, my new job - which has me much busier during the day - all of the daily sturm and drang of life and my new business venture, I rarely even have time to think about this blog, much less write a post proof-read it 5 times, post it, proof read it a couple more times, edit it because I'm just not satisfied, repost it and then sit and think about it it for another half hour...yes that is usually my process when I blog.

But what I want to talk about today is the new business venture mentioned above. Whatever loyal readers I have may remember my post back in December about doing a photo shoot for a coworker. Well, things have really been progressing since then and I am now officially Constance Elyse Photography! You can also check out my Facebook Fan Page here. I have not yet decided if I want to start including personal blogs over there or keep things separate and try to be more active over here.

For now, here is a picture of Alivia in the bluebonnets. They are moving back to Texas in July and I absolutely cannot wait to have them close again!

The Past Month In Photos

I was leaving for New York the next day, so on the 13th Johnathan sent me an edible arrangement instead of flowers that would wither and die in my absence. It was delicious and thoughtful and enjoyed by me and my coworkers.

For Valentines Day, I had a date with my three favorite ladies (Mom, Erin and Alivia) to see Sesame Street Live: Elmo Makes Music.

Alivia was very excited when she saw her favorite giant furry friends on the stage!

Just had to throw in this adorable shot in her Valentine's outfit. She'd torn open a box of candy conversation hearts and was sitting on the floor trying to scoop them up before they got taken away.

Then we headed to Massachusetts. We found a really good restaurant near our hotel for sushi. Yum!

Alivia enjoyed the edamame.

How cute is she in her snow suit and boots?

We went tubing the first day. Don't worry, mom did not take out any small children in the process.

Erin and I skied, while Mom and Alivia spent the days shopping.

Love the slopes!

Unfortunately, while we were in Massachusetts, mom's beloved dog, Karma, got out and was hit by a car. It was a devastating ending to a fun trip and we'll all continue to miss her terribly.

Isn't my sister beautiful?

The day after I got back to Texas Johnathan came home for good! We've just been spending as much time as possible together.

Also, I turned 24. Laura brought this delicious red velvet Keller cake.

All-in-all, it has been an awesome month!

Slow Moving Vehicle

I have got a TON of catching up to do with all that has been going on in the past few weeks, but that is not going to happen tonight, so I'm posting a random picture I took this weekend. Enjoy!

You Can Flick Your Friends

I joined Flickr! My photostream is small at the moment, but I'll keep adding. I highly encourage you to check it out regularly and comment on my pictures. I LOVE feedback!

No Explanation Necessary

BFF Party at Birds

Free mini cupcakes
+
Open bar
+
Karaoke with Rebecca Havemeyer
+
Half-priced haircut
=
Good Time Had by All!

I have always been amazed by the sky. I cannot see a sunrise, sunset or interesting cloud formation without taking a moment or two to stare in awe of the beauty in our world.

I was at Johnathan's parents' house this afternoon and when I turned out of their driveway I was confronted with a glorious site. Fortunately, I did remember my camera today and I may have stopped the car in the middle of the road and hopped out to snap a picture.

It's things like this that make me realize how tiny I am and remember that my creator's vision for my life and the world is infinitely better than mine.

Victory

Today I was out of the house by 7 AM. From that point, I did the following:

• Got my oil changed
• Cleaned out the back of the car
• Dropped Keller off at the groomer's
• Donated blood
• Went to Half-Priced Books
  
• Got my car washed and the inside cleaned
• Met Ari for lunch, followed by window shopping and ogling rescue dogs up for adoption
• Had a latte and read my new used book at Starbucks
• Fell in love with a lens I can't afford at Precision
• Stopped by a new store and picked up an awesome Valentine's card for Johnathan and a couple of anytime cards for two other people
• Picked Keller up from the groomer
• Took Keller to the park, where she proceeded to roll around on an old possum skeleton (eeeeeew!) while I read
  
• Met with 'my dealer' to get some makeup

Today was a very successful day in my world! I haven't felt this accomplished in a quite a long time. I had to record it all in writing or I'd never believe it tomorrow.

My only regret is that it was a perfect day for taking pictures - overcast all day - and I neglected to grab my camera when I left the house. I could kick myself!

Since I took the pictures of my coworker's family back in December, I've been blessed to have other generous people in my life volunteer to play "model" for me. A few weeks ago, I shot another coworker and her little family. It's always a different experience working with kids of varying ages. This little guy is three and was much more interested in running around than having his picture made, but who can blame him? All of this is a learning experience for me and I'm just grateful for the opportunity. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the day:

I adore his big, green eyes.

So much time and so little to do....

Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it.*

I feel like there is so much I need to do before Johnathan moves back and my time to do it is really short. In nine and a half days I will be getting on an early morning flight to New York to spend several days with my mom, Erin and Alivia and to go skiing. I get back to Austin on Thursday night and then Johnathan will be home at 9:00 the next morning.

Johnathan hasn't ever seen my new apartment, my "new" car. He hasn't seen Keller in two years. I feel like everything needs to be up to a certain level of 'perfect' upon his return. So here is the current list of things I need to accomplish in less than 10 days:

• Clean my whole apartment from top to bottom
• Get an oil change
• Get my car washed
• Get Keller groomed
• Lose 30 lbs
• Dye my hair
• Get my hair cut
• Finish decorating my apartment
• Buy a whole new, cuter wardrobe
• Learn to play the guitar

Hmmm...I'm sure there are even more things I would like to have done, but I get the feeling I'm being slightly unrealistic.

*Bonus if you can name that movie.

Best Day Ever!

Yesterday was an awesome day! The best part being that we found out Johnathan is coming home! We have been enduring a long distance relationship for the past two years. Well, things have finally lined up the right way for him to move back home! I could not be happier. And he'll even be home pretty soon. Just two weeks and two days.

We've been praying for this for so long and it really doesn't seem real. The past two years have put a huge strain on our relationship and we have, at times, been within an inch of the breaking point. But God never let us forsake each other or His plan for us and it has made us such a happier, healthier couple for struggling through it. We'll appreciate every day - every moment - we get to spend together all the more, because there was a time when we just didn't have the option. We both know that there will be plenty of hard times ahead, as every relationship and every life involves struggle. But, He got us through this together and we both know that He'll do it every time.

I also got to meet my new 'Little Sister' yesterday. I can't talk too much about that (to protect her privacy), but she is a sweet, adorable little girl and I had an awesome time playing with her at a playground near her house. Next week we're going to go to the public library, where she has never been before, and hopefully get her her own library card.

Today I truly feel like I have all that I could wish!

Family Resemblance

I fully admit to pilfering this from my mom, but it's just too funny.

Recent photos of my adorable niece:

Recent photos of my adorable sister:

I cannot imagine where Alivia got it from!

Second Favorite?

One of the many things I have come to love about Johnathan is his talent for giving me gifts. Now, if he never ever gave me a single gift in our whole relationship I would still love him, but his thoughtfulness and insight is the delicious icing on the proverbial cake.

The first gift I think he ever gave me was for the first Christmas we were together. We'd only been dating less than two months and I was working two full-time jobs and had just finished a semester taking 9 hours of school on top of it. That year, he gave me a gift certificate to get a massage. It was exactly what I needed, but never thought to ask for. Last Christmas he pulled out another brilliant idea for part of my gift. Knowing how much I love the show Mad About You and that the interactions between Paul and Jamie Buchman remind me of the way we are together, he bought me the first three seasons of the show on DVD. Again, it hadn't occurred to me to ask for them, but they've provided hours of entertainment and I couldn't love them more.

Johnathan isn't just good at giving gifts for special occasions either. He is thoughtful all of the time. He once saw a set of pearls that were modeled after ones that Jackie Kennedy wore and was so sure that I'd love them, he bought them immediately and gave them to me in October, even though he easily could have saved them for an anniversary gift the next month. On my first day at my current job, flowers were delivered to my office to offer me congratulations and wish me good luck.

Basically what I'm saying is that I feel incredibly lucky to have such a thoughtful, caring person in my life and the last thing I want to say about Christmas this year is that it was no exception. I could not possibly have ever imagined what he would come up with to give me, but I also could not possibly love it more. He gave me a tote bag with none other than my beloved dog on it. Granted, such a thing could have turned out to be really cheesy if it was poorly done, but the one he chose is beautiful and perfect and I couldn't be happier to carry it around. So, without further ado, here is my second favorite thing from Christmas this year:

My Favorite Thing This Christmas

There is just too much to write about in regards to my Christmas celebrations this year. Between Johnathan's family and the two sides of my family, the holiday lasted about five days. I loved getting to spend time with so many loved ones, but there were definitely some absences leaving a void as well.

If I had to pick my one favorite thing about Christmas this year, it would definitely be watching my niece, Alivia, really get into it for the first time in her life. At 14 months, she was able to unwrap her own presents (and try her best to open others' too), get excited over gifts and just look plain adorable. I took hundreds of pictures during all of the festivities, but here are just a few favorites photos of my favorite niece:

Mini Dream-Come-True

I remember the first camera I ever had. It was one of those long, thin rectangular ones and it was a bright neon yellow/green color. I got it for Christmas and took a bunch of pictures of my cousin's and uncles playing basketball, but only managed to shoot their feet. In high school, I was on the yearbook and newspaper staff as a photographer and I again got a camera for Christmas, only this time it was a 35mm SLR. Since everything went digital, I've had a couple of point and shoots, but I always longed for a digital SLR. Finally, around Easter, I decided to make the investment and I think it was one of the best things I could possibly have spent my money on.

I usually find myself shooting plants and animals, because there are not too many willing human subjects out there, but last weekend I got an opportunity that was really like a dream to me. A coworker mentioned to me that she was going to have some portraits done at JC Penny. When I heard that I believe I gasped (no offense to JC) and insisted that she let me do a photo shoot for her. She has a little boy who turns two-months tomorrow and her husband left yesterday for his second or third tour in Iraq, so it was very important to her to have photos before he left.

So on Sunday, they gave me the great honor of doing my first ever professional (though actually not, since I didn't want to be paid) photo shoot. I'm so thankful to her family for being my guinea pigs. I have a [not so] secret dream of building up a portfolio some day and maybe turning my hobby into a side job. Here are a few of the shots I took:

Not So Boring

As I spent Saturday night in a typical way - doing laundry and watching an old movie from Netflix - I was thinking about how boring my life is and how it doesn't make for very much to blog about. It's not really a complaint. No news is good news and all that. But I do wish I had more to write about on here. So I lamented my boring blog, finished my laundry and went to bed.

At 2:40 Sunday morning, Keller started barking and then I heard a knock at the door. I looked out the peephole and saw an unknown man in his late 20's to early 30's. I opened the door a crack, keeping most of my body (read: leverage) behind the door and peeking my head around to see what he wanted. He told me that some people had tried to jump him in the parking lot of my apartments and asked me to call the police. I told him I would and shut and locked the door to go get my phone. While I was calling he knocked again and asked for some water, so I went and got him bottle and gave it to him (shutting and locking the door behind me every time). Finally, when I had given all of the information I had to the dispatcher, I told him that they were on their way and just sat and waited.

A few minutes later I could hear the police outside and before long there was another knock at the door. This time it was the police. The officer asked me a few questions and then chastised me for opening the door, telling me that he did not believe the guy's story and did not think it was a coincidence that he happened to knock on the door of a single woman. My opinion is that if he had any intention of harming me he would have asked or made a move to get into my apartment and he would not have asked me to call the police, much less wait around for them to show up. But honestly, it wasn't until the officer told me that he was concerned for me that it even hit me that my safety could have been in question.

That got me emotional. I was not afraid at all. The whole thing was over and I never felt the least bit threatened. But I was still upset and I have to thank my mom for not freaking out when I called her crying at 3:00 AM about the cops and the strange man who came to my door. She didn't even get mad at me for being so "irresponsible." I have been accused in the past of being too trusting or naive. I know that these people are right, but for me, I have to live in a world where I trust in the basic goodness of people until they show me otherwise.

About a half hour later, the police knocked again and asked me some more questions: whether I'd been outside late that night, if my blinds had been open, etc. They said that the man did not know whether I had called them or not, which leads me to believe my suspicion that he had some mental problems. When all was said and done I was able to go back to sleep fairly easily, thanking God that I was safe and appreciating the boring times just a bit more.

A Special Anniversary

Four years ago today, I brought my dog, Keller home from the shelter. I was living with my mom at the time and she had undergone major back surgery. During the weeks of recovery, she was totally bed-bound leaving me to do everything around the house and taking care of her, while working at my first professional job. She had to take several different medicines at all different times of day and night, so I had a ton of alarms set up, so I could wake up and give her her pills. It was a lot of work, but I didn't mind one bit. I get satisfaction out of taking care of others and, after all, she has done it for me my whole life. But when she was back on her feet, she decided that she wanted to do something for me as a thank you and she felt like it would be a better gift if it involved her making a sacrifice.


Mom never liked dogs and didn't want us to have one growing up. She knew that I would love nothing more to have a dog, so she decided that she would let me get one. I filled out an application at the local shelter and then went back every few days searching every run for just the right dog. There were a few that I had my eye on at various times, but they had inevitably always already been spoken for. Then one day I saw a brand new little thing that I knew I had to have. She was scruffy and dirty and just stayed in the corner of her run, rather than jumping at the gate like most of the others. She looked exactly like what a pound puppy should.


I immediately put my name on her, but couldn't even take her out of her pin for a few days, as they had to give time for an owner to claim her and do temperament testing before allowing her to be handled. I brought my mom by to see her and her response was something like "are you sure you want THAT dog?" I would sit outside her run, trying to entice her over so I could pet her through the chain-link, but all she ever did was cower in the corner. Finally the time came when I could take her out and she pretty much had to be dragged. The consensus of the workers at the shelter was that she had obviously been abused and she was going to take some time and a lot of work. I was in love.


About a week, and many visits later, she was spayed and ready to come home with me. It did take some work to get her to warm up, and she still has trust issues with strangers, but she has turned out to be a wonderful dog. She is so wonderful, in fact, that even my mom fell in love with her. When we moved out about seven months later, my mom missed Keller so much, that she tracked down a similar mix at another shelter and adopted it.


Keller is the perfect dog for me and I honestly couldn't imagine the past four years without her by my side. I'm so lucky to have a smart, loyal, fun, loving animal companion.

Ring in The Holiday Season

A questionnaire that Johnathan's mom sent me:

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper
2. Real tree or Artificial? artificial - silver, in fact
3. When do you put up the tree? within a few days of Thanksgiving
4. When do you take the tree down? after New Years
5. Do you like eggnog? yummmmm
6. Favorite gift received as a child? not sure, maybe my turquoise and pink "Puppy Love" bike
7. Hardest person to buy for? hard to say, I love coming up with just the thing I think somebody will love and think I generally succeed, even if it took me a long time to think of something, that only makes it more special
8. Easiest person to buy for? Alivia
9. Do you have a nativity scene? nope, but if I could find one that went with my decorations, I would definitely buy it
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? I have a habit of buying ones to mail, filling out about half and never sending any
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? can't think of a one
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? I love so many, maybe Home Alone
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? as soon as I see something that strikes me, this year the first gift was purchased in October
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? not that I recall
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? a bit of everything
16. Lights on the tree? love them, but there aren't any on mine
17. Favorite Christmas song? We Three Kings and Baby, It's Cold Outside
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? be wherever the family is - usually within a couple hour's drive
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, Rudolph...and Olive, the other reindeer
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? Mine doesn't exactly have either, it's more like a star and that's what I'd choose of the two
21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? both
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? I love the holidays, can't think of anything
23. Favorite ornament theme or color? anything beautiful or meaningful
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? squash casserole
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? Johnathan moving back home

Babies on the Brain

You know those Volkswagen commercials with Brooke Shields that say people are having babies just to buy the van they're selling? Well, you can go on their site and make a baby using two photos...I guess to see if the baby is cute enough to be worth it for a van. So, here are some babies I could potentially have:

with Johnathan

with my best friend Ari

with my friend Laura

with comedian Eddie Izzard

with Paul Newman

and, because I ran out of ideas

with my dog Keller

I don't know if enough people actually read this blog to make a poll worth it, but I've decided to ask anyway. Vote on the right for who you think I should have a baby with.

Legacy

This is my paternal grandmother:

Her name is Margaret; I call her Grandma.

This is my paternal grandfather:

His name is Bill; I call him Bampa.

Yesterday was their 70th wedding anniversary. We had a party on Saturday to celebrate. Their three children, three grandchildren and three great-grandchildren were all there, along with one of Grandma's brothers and plenty of in-laws. The suit Bampa is wearing is the same one he wore on their wedding day. I'm so blessed to still have these two in my life. Their lasting love is an example that I pray to live up to in my own relationship with Johnathan. Maybe around 2080 or so, we'll be celebrating the same thing.

Here are a few more pictures from the festivities:

Grandma and Bampa reading a card from Johnathan and me.

Alivia showing off her pretty dress by rolling around on the floor in it.

My second cousin, Lindsey.

My Aunt Linda.

Alivia showing Great-Grandma her See 'n Say.

Telling Bampa a story.

My great-uncle, Jack and Uncle Ed.



Aunt Linda and great-aunt, Joyce.

Anniversary cards and flowers.