happy monday

first off- i have a visual for you in regards to how my Monday is currently going:



yeah. a $103 ticket for "following to close"

wait, shouldn't that be "folowing too close" Mr. Officer?

either way. i am annoyed. i don't get stopped & i don't get tickets. ever. well actually, i have gotten 1 ticket like 6 years ago (which i tried to fight & lost) & i do sometimes get pulled over (but not within the past 4 years)- but i never get ticketed. ever ever ever.

plus, i totes wasn't following too close. lies. i'd love to "fight" this- but we all know how that'll go.

i'll take time off of work. waste gas driving to the courthouse. curse as i look for parking. pay out the ass for said parking. wait around for 2 hours. the damn cop'll show up & the judge will look at me like i'm the worst driver ever & declare me "Guilty as charged!"

bang gavel. done.

i'll have to pay anyway & my meter will probably run out & i'll get a parking ticket.

and for what? because Mr. Office needed to meet his quota for the month of August?
stupid.

but moving on. photoshoot. this weekend. it went awesome (for the most part)
the engagement session rocked- but the kid session before hand was like pulling teeth.

smile? no. um...why are you crying? wait- stop. don't touch that. SMILE! are you ok? crap.

but nevermind that- allow me to show you some of the ones from the love shoot.
these have all been re-sized & sharpened for the web.








feel free to CC- i won't be offended.

i tossed up a FB page with the rest: FB Page
and you're totally allowed to "Like" it- as in, please validate me?

baby bird#2 update/NT Scan

the husband & i went in on friday morning for our NT Scan.

i know some people avoid the NT Scan, but we use it as another chance to see the baby , as well as a chance to test for anything that might require us to have addtl preparations in place.

so- the fun part, seeing the baby! i think seeing your inside kid on a screen is one of the best things ever:

baby bird#2 was wiggling & jumping around like crazy. it brought back all the memories of seeing alex at her NT Scan. so freaking awesome.

the u/s tech got 99% of her measurements & then baby bird simply stopped cooperating. she needed him to turn over & he just wouldn't. so i had to go pee & jump around.

after about 5 more minutes he turned over just enough & she was done. she let us look for a couple more minutes & sent me on my way for bloodwork.

Stats:

measuring: 12 weeks 2 days

due date: dec 8th

heartbeat: 156 bpm

nt measurment: 1.2 mm

so, so far so good! my due date moved way up from the original dec 15th date- but we're going to say dec 10th for a nice middle of the road date.

so today = 12 weeks 4 days

it was so awesome to see him. it's just so reassuring! such a miracle- and i'm so very thankful every day!

as for me- i still look about the same as i did 5 weeks ago with belly pic#1- so i haven't bothered to take another one yet. i will this week.

i can definately see a bump, but if you didn't know i was ku then you wouldn't know.

symptoms are mild- just like with alex- but i'm freaking tired 100% of the time. i don't think the hubs really gets how tired i am. so my "i'm reeeeally tired..." statements fall on deaf ears.

in other news: this weekend was fab. i'll be sure to post pics asap- i shot a wedding this sunday & i can now see why real photogs charge so much. omg- time consuming much?!

5 hours at the wedding- shooting

10+ hours editing (and still not done)

i only have 300 or so pics but the editing is killing me- it takes foreveeeer. so yeah, no more bitching about photography prices- i get it now.

ok- so i promise to get a new belly pic this week & get some weekend shots up before friday (i hope)

now i need to go catch up on blogs. please forgive me if i haven't commented in awhile- i'm trying to keep up!!!

photography

what's in my camera bag you ask?

well let's start with my actual bag:

Lowepro Micro Trekker 100

- this is a great bag, it's fits all my current crap PERFECTLY! if i ever get more, i'll need a bigger bag- but i've always stuck with Lowepro!

now, onto the goods: the camera

Nikon D90

- i lusted over this camera. i begged & pleased with the husband. i was rewarded with a resounding "NO!" over & over. so i gave up.

so imagine my shock when i pulled it from under the Christmas tree last year (christmas 08')

"...what!? no way!"

yeah- woot!

the lense:

Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II Zoom Lens

-i have to thank the guy who sold my husband the camera for this thing. he told my husband to nix the crappy kit lense & buy me something nicer. so he did- and i'm happy!

the lense hood:Nikon HB-35 Lense Hood

- is it bad that i've never used this? nor do i know why i would? shame.

the flash:

Nikon SB-600 AF Speedlight Flash
- i am ashamed to say that i've only used this flash...never. i'm sorry! i didn't realize how great it actually is. all the things you can do with it- aaaah! even now, after pulling it out last night, i'm so overwhelmed.
the girls on thebump photography board are experts. i sit under their table of wisdom & lick up the crumbs. hopefully i can figure this thing out & put it to good use- the husband will be grateful.


and there you go! in my humble opinion- i think i have some pretty top of the line stuff. the sad thing is that i really don't know how to use it. i've had all this for over a year & i'm just now starting to learn things. i've finally started shooting Manual instead of Auto and it's crazy.
i downloaded Lightroom & CS4 & i'm SO OVERWHELMED! i've got this awesome flash and no idea how or when or why to use it!!

i need a personal photography tutor. that would be awesome.
but i'll learn. i HAVE to!