Where has July gone

It seems this month has flown by.  It couldn't be because I was busy for most of it.  Looking at my goals I set at the beginning of the month:

Sleep In - I have slept in probably twice the entire month - must work on this more.
Swim - Yep at the Great Wolf Lodge pictures to prove it
Laugh - Did this a lot!!
Discover - Definitely did this (hello Ikea)
Nurture - I hope I did this...I should always work on this
Play - Yes!  A lot!  I fell in love with some lenses along the way
Connect - I had a missed opportunity to connect, but next time it will happen.  I have connected on deeper levels though.

Complex:
I have a tiny section of my table before it is finished.  It has eaten my lunch.  Not sure I will ever take on this type of project again (oh yes I will, who am I kidding...I like a challenge).

Didn't get around to painting my living room - oh well I was busy

I did follow along with the photo challenge.  It was fun.  I already have my next one lined up.

I also saw The Lion King this month and had to call 911 the same night
I had an awesome anniversary and we got a really great gift for each other.
Great Wolf Lodge (and Ikea) was awesome.  Had a lot of fun.
Shot my very first wedding and didn't throw up
Elexis got braces
I went to the zoo...a lot!

Here are some pictures to highlight my month:

without braces

with braces

July 4th with my family

Pig sat this guy - Freddie

Fed him!

Took pictures of him

Had a good time with her - looking my absolute best...haha

Rode with these guys - the boy is my nephew

Wanted to do more of what he is doing

Saw this - wonderful I cried - eventful night afterward

fed a few of these

These kids were so fun

symbolic Indian ritual - His father was Indian and had passed.  The empty chair is there to bless the couple.  It's a really cool story on how this picture came about.  I will definitely explain it after I get the final product.

With their respective father's 

The son that hit on me.

Love

July goals

Day 1:  What are your goals for this month

My goals this month are pretty simple:

Sleep in
Swim
Laugh
Discover
Nurture
Play
Connect

I do have a couple of complex ones too:

Finish stripping and staining my grandma's table
Paint my living room

I liked the challenge of taking a photo every day.  I am going to follow along with another photo challenge.  Here are the list of topics:

source

Day 1: Out my window

From my car window.  Love the clouds.

Paula's July Challenge

Goal!

Day 29: Goals for the next 30 days

Ok, so I tend to take things one day at a time.  Today's goal...laundry.  As for the next 30 days...I have a few.

July 3rd - Go see Lion King in Tulsa - goal: Have fun and relax
July 4th - My 16th wedding anniversary - goal: To find an anniversary present for my husband.
July 12 - Mini family vacation to Great Wolf Lodge - goal: They swim; I go to Ikea and hopefully get my anniversary present (not sure what it will be yet).
July 19 - Shoot my very first wedding - goal: Don't throw up, don't pass out, get as many memorable shot as I can. Weddings tend to intimidate me because these are people's memories and you only get one time to get the shot.  Breathe, Cristy, breathe...

That is what is set in stone for right now.  I have some other goals in mind, I will share those in a couple of days when I start the July Blog Challenge.  Speaking of which, I am hoping to see you guys join me.  I love getting to know you.  I will be hosting an August Challenge that I am putting together now.  I will be asking for a little help from you guys (it's part of the plan).  I am excited.

Photo Day 29: In my bag

I don't carry a purse.  I keep all necessary essentials in my car or in my pocket (hello 2 tubes of chapstick at all times).  Here is a picture of the cute little wristlet I carry.  I just got this one this week.  I paid a whopping $19.50 for it (thank you coach outlet for the awesome sale).  Inside of it, I keep my discount cards, my debit card, my driver's license and a few membership cards.  I love my new one because it's pretty much stain resistant.

This is almost the end of the June Blog Challenge over at Paula's Place.

Join us for the July Challenge as well.  

Challenges

I like challenges.  They make me step outside my comfort zone.  I also don't like to let things beat me so I try to stick challenges out.  This month on Instagram, I participated in the February Photo Challenge of the Day.  I have 4 days to go and I have taken a picture every day.  I plan on continuing through March.  It holds me accountable to a personal challenge of taking a picture every day.  Now granted I use my iphone for my Instagram pictures.  I want to follow through with my challenge of growing artistically with my camera.  For Christmas, my husband bought me a Canon 7D.  I LOVE this camera.  I also have a Canon T3 that I went through photography school with.  I could be blindfolded and change every setting on that camera.  I want to get that way with my 7D.  On google + I have joined a few photography communities.  Doing that has helped me get the creative juices flowing.  I now have a brainstorm of ideas that I would like to execute.  So, to help me become a better photographer I have composed a Day of the Week Challenge for myself.  To hold myself accountable, I will post at the end of the week all the pictures I took (and edited!!).

These themes are subject to change as I become more inspired, but here is what I have come up with so far:

Monday - Monochrome Monday - Black and White or Sepia Photographs

Tuesday - Toy or Transportation Tuesday

Wednesday - Way back Wednesday or Imitation Wednesday - Either revisit and edit a picture taken before photography school OR recreate photographs that I find inspiring.

Thursday - Thankful or Texture Thursday - Something I am Thankful for OR textures

Friday - Food Friday - Uh, yeah...I like taking pictures of food

Saturday - Street or Signs Saturday - This will help me get out and explore locations

Sunday - Song Title Sunday - Interpreting song titles into photographs

I am really excited to get started.  I would love to have people join me if they want.  They do not need to be professionals or even own a nice camera.  If I get interest I will set all that up.

I will probably brainstorm ideas for some of them on Sundays...I also will keep up with my challenges I  have already started.

Motivation and Goals

I am a procrastinator.  It is something I am trying to change.  I am also messy, something else I am trying to change.  So, I feel if I post my goals for people to read it will give me motivation to get done.

My number one goal is to get back to a daily devotion.  I haven't done this in a while and I feel it will help all other aspects of my life if I get this under control.  I am on the look out for a good women's devotion.

Number 2: Finish getting my house organized.  My living room still needs to be painted, but I have decluttered and purged a lot of stuff.  Now, it only takes about 5 to 10 minutes to pick up.  After I finished making costumes for this last production, there was stuff everywhere.  My next room is our computer room.  This room is overwhelming.  There is so much stuff I need to get rid of.  My husband spends a lot of time in this room.  I guess it's his "nerd-cave" (I would say man cave but it has a ton of my stuff in it, and its not used to watch sports, mainly to play video games and study stocks).  I would like to get rid of our giant desk in there, but I would need to get a book shelf and bigger filing cabinet to replace it.  I am giving myself a couple of weeks (procrastination).

Number 3: Join a gym.  I have been walking/running, zumba (at home on the wii), and doing Jillian Michaels since October.  All of these things have helped me start to change the shape of my body, but I think I need more.  Plus, I don't want to get bored.  My problem is once I get to the gym, I am not entirely sure what to do.  I will probably need a trainer for the first couple of weeks.  I am ready to build muscle and tone what I have.  I don't want to lose anymore weight though.

Number 4:  Work on my photography.  I want to start selling prints.  I am not quite sure how to get my work out there for purchase.  As soon as the weather gets warmer, I am taking my new camera out and get lost in my own city and just shoot.  As soon as I learn how, I will post a link to my photography website.

So there are a few of my goals.  I will keep progress on how I do.  Heck, I still haven't made the NY Times chocolate chip cooks.  Procrastination sucks!!