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The Swine Flu Infected My Computer February 26, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Photography, Thoughts , 6comments

I downloaded a virus.

I was just minding my own business, doing a little search on google, and BAM!

I was infected.

I know!  I want to die!

I’m not sure how this mean little Trojan horse got past my anti-virus software, but David and I had a few loud words to share with Avast!

The only program this virus seems to have infected is PHOTOSHOP.

Now, I REALLY WANT TO DIE.

Photoshop to me is like texting is to a teenager girl.

It’s almost as important as my RIGHT hand.

I use it everyday.  My classes require it.  My work requires it.

So, I’ve obviously felt a bit handicapped since this nasty virus decided to destroy my life.

Today David is stripping our hard drives, and re-installing EVERY PROGRAM.

This is going to take a hundred years.  I just know it.

But, now we will officially be using Windows 7 (we’ve been using the trial version for six months now and it expires in a week) and I love it so much more than Vista and XP, so Windows 7 it is!

We are also the proud owners of two more terabytes.  That makes FOUR terabytes for us.

I can’t believe I just wrote that.  I remember (not too long ago!) when I first head about terabytes.  I was like, “WHEN IN A MILLION YEARS WOULD YOU EVER NEED THAT MUCH SPACE?”

Well, we do.  I guess it’s been a million years.  :)  We (meaning David) plans to stripe the terabytes and mirror them, so we will never suffer from a catastrophic hard drive crash.  Basically, we will have two terabytes of storage space and two terabytes to backup our stuff.  If you think I have any idea what I’m talking about, you’d be mistaken.  I’m creative, David is techie, so together we’re a good team.  :)

I wanted to post a couple images from yesterday’s shoot.

This little guy is getting baptized next week:

(More pics from this session soon)

And this fun group . . .

Well, lets just say it was “Nunsense!”  More images of this fun group starring in the musical “Nunsense” will be coming soon . . .

Opening night is in a week!  More details later.  (Meaning, more details, as soon as I know any, or where to find them, or whatever.)

Perspective February 25, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Family, Thoughts , 4comments

Please.

Excuse me while I take a minute to think about what really matters in life.

I tend to stress out a lot.

David on the other hand, doesn’t get his feathers ruffled too easily.

This makes us a good team.

But still.

I need a moment to think about what really matters in the long run and not what matters RIGHT.  THIS.  SECOND.

Milestone for the Whole Family February 23, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Friends, Little Man Dallin, Parenthood, Photography, Thoughts , 3comments

C-sections are not easy.

Planned.  Not planned.  I’ve done both.

It’s not the worst thing in the world, it’s not the best.

The most painful time of the c-section does not happen when you are getting your spinal.  It does not happen when you are being gutted like a deer either.

No.

That part is actually great because you don’t feel a dang thing, and if you’ve never experienced labor pains that accompany a vaginal birth, you might wonder what all the “pain” hype is about.

The most painful part of a c-section comes 24 hours after surgery.

You are well enough to get up and walk around the hospital like a little old lady with your new boyfriend, the IV, but IT DOES NOT FEEL GOOD.  And you keep having to get up out of your bed using abdominal muscles that don’t work because they have been pried apart.  Laughing, taking deep breaths, and sneezing are THE WORST.

You ban anyone funny from visiting you.  I had to ban Brian.

I met Emily on day two of my c-section.

Why do I remember this patient care tech so well?

She was helping clean me up after some serious blood loss (not good, Dr’s and nurses came in and I was all, “Am I going to die?  How much blood is too much to loose?) and in making small talk (I’m sure to distract me from the severity of the situation) Emily told me she understood how much pain I was in.  She had two c-sections, and it was her opinion that day two was the worst.

I asked her how old her kids were, and she told me they would be two and one, but both of them had passed away.

GULP.

What?

I was no longer concerned about my minor medical issues of losing lots of blood (nurses and Dr’s still scurrying around the room) and I was sick to my stomach that a young mother had lost TWO babies.

She had TWO c-sections to boot.

Both of her babies had heart defects and did not live longer than five weeks.

Six moths after my chance meeting with her, she and her husband adopted this little guy:

And I got to photograph him for his birthday.  He just turned one a couple of days ago.

This is a HUGE milestone for their little family.  She never knew if they’d ever get to see one of their kids turn one.

And he is A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E.

And a ham for the camera.  :)

Emily has such an inspiring story.  Congratulations to all of them!

In Cahoots With My Siblings February 18, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Family, Photography, Projects, Thoughts, Utah , 2comments

What can I say?

It’s possible that I have one too many projects on my plate right now.

But I’m having fun.

Especially since I’m working on some exciting things with my brothers.

Ben (left) is a business mastermind who knows everyone. Brian (my twin on the right) is an artist and a master at product design and patent drawings. They are both well connected and brilliant, so I’m in good company. :) Check out Brian’s site here.

I’m only invited to this “all boys” project because I take pictures. Hopefully good ones.

They’re working on something really cool and hopefully you will see it (and be able to buy it for yourself!) in a Costco near you in 2011.

I’ll post more details later. :)

On a Side Note . . . February 11, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Beauty, Thoughts , 6comments

I’m concocting something really, really cool and fun for Friday’s post.  You’re going to want to check back first thing Friday morning FOR SURE.

For some of you, it will be an awesome opportunity, and I’m pretty excited about it.

I can be crazy sometimes, and I have one crazy idea, let me tell you.  I have a feeling that some of you are going to LOVE me on Friday.  :)

Until then, lets love Nads, shall we?

Oh Nads, how I LOVE YOU!

I’m SO HAPPY you come in a facial wand that doesn’t have to be heated in the microwave.  It has prevented my upper lip from being scared of you!  The pain of each and every little unwanted pesky hair on my upper lip does not mind being yanked out from the roots.  My lip has always been scared of your regular formula that has to be heated in the microwave at temperatures that make my skin want to fall off!

Someone brilliant invented you.  Maybe it was Nad?

Thank you, Nad, for improving my personal hygiene.

Next . . .

Have you ever heard of five finger shoes?

Yeah.  Me neither.

David heard abut these shoes the other day at the practice he’s rotating at.

They sound very interesting . . .

And their customers are raving about them.

Any opinions?

I’m totally curious, so maybe I’ll be sporting a pair of these on my blog soon.  :)

Self-Portrait Round Two February 8, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Photography, School, Thoughts , 6comments

I started my classes this week at AAU, and I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.

For one of my first assignments, I had to take a self-portrait.

ANOTHER ONE.  AS IN, CANNOT USE ANY SELF-PORTRAITS TAKEN MORE THAN SIX DAYS AGO.

UGH.

Couldn’t they just accept the self-portrait I took over the summer for another class?  Heck, I look the same.

I kept hoping this assignment would just disappear into a black hole.  Maybe we would be assigned a new assignment?  Maybe my twin brother would magically become a TWIN SISTER and voila!  I could photograph my identical twin!

So pathetic, I know.

Taking a self portrait is right up there with getting a root canal.  UGH.  I hate taking self -portraits, or heck, even just getting my own picture taken by someone else is just not on the top of my list.  I really enjoy being behind the camera, not in front of it.  I took several self-portraits this week.  I wasn’t 100% happy with any of them, but that is more personal than it is technical.  I’m like that client you can never please because they’re just not happy about the way they look in every picture.  Nothing to do with the photographer, everything to do with the client.

I have issues.

I’m sure it’s because of the lovely extra pounds that just refuse to disappear, and other neuroses I have about myself of which I won’t go into a description.  (See?  I’m neurotic!)  Photographs have a way of magnifying all the things you wish would just go away.

That being said, I did learn a few technical things from this experiment, and if nothing else, I know my equipment better this week than I did last.

This is what I came up with:

“Hello camera!  Why aren’t you responding to my trigger?  HELLO?  Do you think I like to do this?”

Then there’s the “straight hair on me” = “drowned rat look.”

And this one where David mentioned I looked a little ticked off in this picture.

Not exactly the message I was trying to communicate.

I ended up submitting the second image.  No word on how I did yet.

Please say this is the last self portrait assignment ever.  PLEASE?!?!  :)

Two is Better Than One February 4, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Family, Little Man Dallin, Parenthood, Princess Hannah, Thoughts , 4comments

When planning a family, just know that if you want a baby, you must commit to at least TWO.

Why?

Kids are like potato chips.  You can’t have JUST ONE.

Even in my fertility stricken days, I was a believer in the zero-kids-or-at-least-two-kids theory.

There are certain things kids can only learn from having siblings, and vice versa, there are certain things parents can only learn from having more than one child.

Remember how I thought parenthood was the easiest thing ever and how badly behaved kids were a direct reflection of their parents?

Well . . .

Pardon me while I get my judgmental self in check.

OK, I’m in check now.

Yes, those were the days when I had only ONE child who, by the way, was possibly the easiest, most laid back, happy child ever to be born.   Honestly, Hannah never cried and when she was awake, she was so easy to take care of.  She was like watching grass grow, but in a  fun exciting sort of way that grass grows.

Now, enter child number two who is 100% different from Hannah.  I won’t get into all the specifics, but those of you who have been reading my blog since Dallin was born,  know that I almost lost all my marbles.  And really, I’m not kidding.

I’m a mom because of Hannah and a better mom because of Dallin.

Top reasons to give your child a sibling:

Whenever Dallin is asleep, Hannah gets bored and tells me that she really needs a friend and could I be her friend?  It’s darling, but sometimes, I’m getting into the shower, and it’s just not super convenient.  :)

This is what I love . . .

Dallin was sitting on the couch first and Hannah had the pick of the room for a place to sit.  There is a recliner, a love seat, several small chairs for children, the floor, and the couch.  Where does she sit?  Oh yeah, on the same couch cushion as Dallin.  Smooshed up next to him.

A-D-O-R-A-B-L-E  I tell you!

They also hold hands during the scary parts of Nemo, Monsters, and The Barbie movies.  :)

Someone who thinks they can’t love the second child as much as the first hasn’t had a second child.

*Note:  I know some of you would love to have more than one child, but one reason or another you cannot.  Trust me when I say I understand!  I spent many infertility stricken years (eight to be exact) wondering if we would ever have a family, and after Hannah was born, I wondered (though for not very long) if I could have more.  This post is only intended to show how great it is for kids to have siblings.

Weekend With Some Besties February 3, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Friends, Medical School, My Handsome Husband, Thoughts, Trips, Utah , 4comments

This last weekend David and I met up with some of our favorite peeps.

David and Brent (who lives in Ohio) were both invited back to Wichita, Kansas to take a second look at a residency program.

That last sentence can be interpreted the following way, “Hey, we like you guys and want you to pick our program.  We’ll pay travel expenses for you and your spouse, wine and dine you, and put you in a nice hotel.  Pick our program!”

We had a wonderful weekend.  Why?

1.  Because we spent a WHOLE weekend with some of our best friends WITHOUT ANY KIDS.

Really, do I need to say more than that?  Brent and Michelle drove down from Ohio, and picked us up on the way to Wichita at the airport in Kansas City.

2.  We stayed in a nice hotel and didn’t foot the bill.

3.  The men worked on some hair brained schemes, while Michelle and I worked on our chit chat skills.

Did I mention we had fun?

We also liked the program, (and we’re pretty sure they liked us) so we may just end up in the same city after all!  What’s better than getting a residency with your besties?

On a side note, every conversation I had this weekend went something like this:

New Person: So . . . where are you from?

Me: I’m from Utah

New Person: So . . . are you Mormon?  (Said with curiosity.  Am I intriguing?  I’m Mormon so I guess the answer to that is YES.)

Me: Yes. Yes I am.

New Person: Do you know so-and-so (insert name of the only other Utah Mormon they have ever met.)

Me: No.  I’m sorry I don’t.  (But really, I’m like, HELLO!  THERE ARE MORE THAN 12 MILLION MEMBERS WORLDWIDE!  Lots of Mormons around!)

New Person: So . . . how long have you and David been married?

Me: It will be 13 years in July.  (I know, I don’t think I’m even old enough for that!)

New Person: (SHOCK!  DISBELIEF!) Gulp.  Did you get married when you were toddlers!?  (True story, more than FIVE count them FIVE people asked me if we got married as toddlers.)

Me: Almost!  (Wondering if I should tell them I got married at 19, and just turned 32 . . .)

And this conversation happened over, and over, and over.  ;)

Needless to say, we had a great weekend.  When we returned, people asked us where we went and when I told them, “Wichita,” everyone responded, saying, “Is that in Kansas?”  Apparently, it’s not on the map . . . yet.

Fake Knitter January 27, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Friends, Thoughts, Utah , 1 comment so far

Everyone in Kansas kits.  They knit everywhere.  At church, in the grocery store, at the park, in the shower, at the pool, at dinner, you know, ANYWHERE!  When I moved to Kansas last year, I became a knitter to see what all the fuss was about.  (I should probably clarify the “I knit” thing.  I knit on a loom, which isn’t like “real” knitting.  It’s like knit-cheating.  There.  I confessed.  David always asks me when I’m going to learn how to knit for real.  I’m a fraud!  What can I say?  I’m not nearly as crafty as I look!)

Obviously, I got hooked.  (No pun intended.)

I have made more hats and scarves than I care to admit, but I can’t quit.  Maybe this makes me a Kansan a heart?  No.  No.  I am a Texan at heart forever!

Last week, we visited Leslie and her Alpacas and I picked up some luxurious fleece to knit myself a scarf.

This is where the fleece starts:

(In the image, Leslie is pointing out the luster which separates this high-end Alpaca from others.)

Then it is spun into yarn . . .

(This particular fleece is from a baby Alpaca, which is called a Cria.  It is the softest, most luscious, yarn in the world.)

My bedding should me made out of this.  It is sooooooo soft.

And this is the final product:

I have given most of my handmade hats and scarves away, but this one is a keeper.

Honestly, David thinks he would like one of these too.

In black of course.  :)

 

Count Your Many Blessings, Name Them One By One January 15, 2010

Posted by Emily in : Thoughts , add a comment

I am so upset about that DANG 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti.

Why is it the poorest are always hit the hardest?

After viewing some emotionally riviting images, I started to recognize some of my daily blessing that I take for granted.

If you have a roof over your head, food to eat, and know where your husband, children, and parents are, then count yourself lucky.  For many people in Haiti, that is a luxury.

That post I wrote a few weeks ago about my own world crumbling down was NOTHING.  I can’t believe I even complained.

If you want to donate to the relief of those in Haiti and would like 100% of the money you donate to go to these people (not administrative fees) click here.