Weight Loss - So I hit a plateau for a couple weeks there. I would fluctuate between 3 pounds, neither going over or under but somewhere in between on each day. I started a exercise routine and wondered if that was it. I was on the verge of being discouraged when I measured and weighed last week and had lost 1 pound for a total of 28 pounds. I measured and went down 7 1/2 inches, which the time before I had gone down 10 pounds and 7 1/2 inches. So I was happy to see that even though the scale wasn't showing a difference my body was. Well I've stayed consistent with my exercise routine and have officially lost 34 pounds and 41 1/2 inches all over as of this morning! :D I feel fantastic!
What's more surprising is that 3 years ago when I was a couple pounds lighter then I am now, my measurements were bigger then they are now! So I may weigh more by a couple pounds but I'm smaller physically. It feels great and has made me even more determined to keep going. I understand that plateau's happen and will happen in the future but I'm going to stick them out. The reward is so worth it!
Another interesting fact is that the last time I lost this much weight I did it over a span of 10 months. I've currently been working on losing weight since early June! Only two and a half months! :) It makes me feel my next big goal is very attainable! I've reached my first goal which is to lose 32 pounds. My ultimate goal is an additional 50 pounds but my next short term goal is 25 pounds. So I'll keep you posted!
Birthday Plans - I'm not sure if these plans are going to happen yet but... I want to have a BBQ on my birthday which is September 4th. I picked Friday because I'm going to BootieLA on Saturday September 5th with a big group of friends and that's always a late night so I figured I'd be too tired to do anything on Sunday September 6th. So we'll see if I can pull this together. Right now the financial side of it is what's concerning me, even if I have everyone bring something. But I haven't had a big party at this place yet. I've had a dinner party of about 20 people but this would probably be bigger then that, at least I hope so. :) Oh and I plan on going to Disneyland the day of my birthday if that works out. I signed up for the free birthday pass but since I already have a season pass I hear they give a gift certificate in its place.
Job Search - I've been pretty discouraged about the whole job hunt thing. I've gotten confirmation that doors are staying shut for a reason, just haven't figured out what God's reason is yet. That might seem a little odd but it's true. Things have happened that there is no other explanation then God shut the door. I'm trying to stay positive about that. It's hard to understand when I don't see the bigger picture. But that's what faith is all about, trusting in what you can't see or understand.
Unexpected Honesty - Right now I feel so torn between being a good Godly woman and being completely unrestrained in opportunities of the worldly nature. There's a song that fits where my hearts at.
Satisfy - Tenth Avenue North
Before the sun has touched the sky
Colors bursting from Your eyes
Before the flood of the morning light
Before the earth has felt Your heat
Before I stand up to my feet
Before I begin to feel this weak
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh
I'm begging You, help me see
You're all I want, You're all I need
Oh, satisfy me Lord
When the day is closing in
Like the stars in the night I am falling
Into the pull of the earth and it's affection
In me, oh lord, can you create
A pure heart cuz I'm afraid
That I just might run back to the things I hate
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh
Yeah, I'm begging You, help me see
You're all I want, You're all I need
Oh, satisfy me Lord
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're more than all this world can give
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're love is all I need to live
You're beautiful, You're beautiful
You're more than all this world can give
You're beautiful, more beautiful
You're love is all I need to live
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh
Satisfy me Lord, oh oh
I'm begging You, help me see
You're all I want, You're all I need
Oh, satisfy me Lord
My relationship with God has become stronger in this time of having to trust His plan for my life but I also feel the draw to do things I've always been against in my personal beliefs or what I have always felt was morally unacceptable. It's been quite a challenge! Especially when the opportunities keep presenting themselves at the most unexpected times! Of course, that's when it's the hardest to prepare yourself to fight against the temptation! Those of you who understand where I'm at, please pray for me to have continued strength.
A Chair's Photography - I'm almost afraid of sharing this because I've said it so often. I actually have made steps to moving forward with the business plan. I am happy to say that the signs that God wants me to move forward with starting my photography business are too great to ignore anymore! I have to get it up and running and right now is the best time! So hopefully I'll be sharing updates in regards to this very soon!
I woke up at 3:30 this morning to make my way down to Pasadena for another photography group outing. This one was organized by my friend James. James' friend Jon (
2Factor Photography Smug Mug page) joined us, and I had a great time learning new things about how he started his business and what he uses.
Our photography group is planning on getting together every 3rd Saturday of the month with a new photography project or location each time. If anyone is interested in joining let me know! This next month we've decided we wanted to play with nighttime portraits and I'm going to use my friend Andy as my model (he's already agreed)! I wanted a rock star look and he's got it! I'm really looking forward to playing with lighting. Jon has some external lights and Septembers project all started when I asked if I could just go with him when he's shooting a portrait with external lighting. I am really happy about this group. I hope it grows because it’s a great way to gain more knowledge and it's so fun to talk to people who have the same passion as I do about photography.
Here is a couple of my favorites
Depeche Mode - I'm going to Depeche Mode Monday night at the Hollywood Bowl! I love Depeche Mode! I'm a little nervous because Dave Gahan has been having voice issues and has had to cancel a couple shows this week per doctors orders! The last email I received said the two shows at Hollywood Bowl would still be happening but I'm still nervous! That would totally suck! Especially since a couple of the people going with me have never seen Depeche Mode live before! It seems crazy when I've been to at least 1 show per tour in the last few tours. :) I love the Hollywood Bowl as a venue so it should be very cool!
Labels: A Chair's Photography, Beliefs, Birthday, Disneyland, Inspiration, Parties, Photography, Rambling, Updates, Weigh In
posted by Charity at 8/16/2009 02:48:00 PM
I think it's high time I wrote an update with pictures! Of course I won't have pictures of the event I shot tonight but at least you'll get something!
I just got home from Edify's first concert. They are my churches band. They so rock! I'm so proud of them... They are all my boys from youth and well Tom's my best friend’s husband so he's practically family and Michelle is just an absolute doll! It was fantastic!
Here are some of the pics of the photoshoot I had with the band earlier this month. It was a lot of fun!
Edify 6/8/08
AAP Certification - Anyways, I've been on an emotional rollercoaster the last couple of weeks. I have found that I have been stressing WAY too much on this AAP examination in October, almost to the point of self sabotage. I'm just trying to take deep breaths and take it one day at a time. I think the part that is disconcerting me is that I'm an intelligent person, I pick up on things fairly quickly, but these ACH rules are a bunch of legal mumbo jumbo and I'm struggling to grasp a basic concept just because the verbiage is so wordy! But I've been persistent. I took that AAP Preparation Class in Pasadena and felt completely out of my league. Mind you, the person heading up the class made it clear that it wasn't meant for beginners. So I had a teleseminar last Thursday on Risk Management Strategies and I was reading the Rish Management Handbook all week before the class and again struggled to comprehend what it was I was reading. Then I take the class and was blown away by how much I understood and how easy it seemed. I think I am just struggling with processing the ACH legal jargon. Either way, after taking that class it did help me calm down quite a bit about the class.
Also I'm going to Vegas in September with my Supervisor for an Operations Conference dealing with the AAP stuff. It will be my first business trip for Alliance, well actually for any company I have worked for so it should be interesting. I think another thing that is putting the pressure on for passing this test is all the money that Alliance is putting out on my behalf. I don't want to disappoint them. These classes, workshops, teleseminars, etc aren't cheap. Failure is not an option! My friends are awesome though... they have faith in me and are all so encouraging and uplifting.
A Chair's Photography - Sometimes I'm so surprised at how many people are so willing to hire me to do their photos. Joshua says I'm professional since I've been paid more then once. It's hard to look at myself as a professional photographer because I still have sooo much to learn! I assisted with
Susan Whitney for that wedding down at Kimberly Crest Mansion and it was an absolute blast! Like I said in the post about that event, I was sweaty, tired and non-stop and I still felt like it wasn't work... I had too much fun! Photography is definitely a passion. I get lost looking through the lens. I forget about all the troubles and focus on another world. It's awesome! So tonight at the concert I saw my Political Science teacher from college and we got to talking and he saw me taking pictures and he said he would like me to take the pictures for when he and his wife renew their vows. They asked for a card. This isn't the first time I've been asked if I have a card. A great friend of mine Annette has a bakery
Sweet Addictions and when she saw my engagement shots of Daniel and Mary she wanted cards to hand out to her clients that come in for wedding cakes.
Yet shooting with Susan I realized how far I am from being ready for any kind of professional business in wedding photography. I'd love to work with her again. I'm hoping she will call me for future weddings. I don't know how rude it is to ask if she liked my work well enough to actually use me again. I finally got the pictures back from her. Our schedules were never meshing and I was quite discouraged by the time I actually got them all, which was last night. I finally looked through the ones she liked and felt comfortable with her critique of my work. She had valid points. I know there is so far to go. But sometimes I don't think it's going to take very long. Meaning I may still have so much to learn but life will carry me from one thing to the next with this whether I feel prepared or not. I was just thinking back that my first real photography job was for Brian and Rashaell Fischer's wedding. That was back in March! That was only 3 (almost 4) months ago! It's been a whirlwind. I can only imagine what the next few months hold!
For those of you who don't have my myspace page I apologize, you don’t get to see the pictures as soon as the people on myspace. I just realized I never posted the pictures of the Steampunk Treehouse! Or Turtle's Reception!So without further ado...
Steampunk Treehouse 5/1/08 - A select few... I have posted a small slideshow so if you would like to see it go to
Steampunk Treehouse Slideshow
Random Shots 4/08 - I just ran into a bunch of shots I took in April and never uploaded them. Some of them are really rather cool...
Turtle & Amber's Wedding Reception 5/17/08
And I can hardly believe I'm actually able to do this but here are some of my favorite pics from the wedding!
Robert & Jessica Simpson Wedding 6/7/08
Labels: A Chair's Photography, Parties, Photoshoots, Pictures, Rambling, Updates
posted by Charity at 6/28/2008 11:40:00 PM 
