The Last Gift of the Year

On December 31, 2011December 31, 2011 By AngeliaIn Beautiful Life10 Comments

My husband is a New Year’s Eve baby. To me, that means he is the last gift of the year. The last present his mother received before the year turned a new number.

Personally, I think having a New Year’s Eve birthday when everyone is happy and celebrating would be fantastic.

He says, it’s not because they are not celebrating your birthday, but the end of the year.

Regardless, I am glad he was the last gift of the year. I think his present (and presence) is a true blessing.

And how cute is he?

Happy Birthday my love. May all your wishes and dreams come true and may everything bring you happiness this year and always.

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone. Be safe and enjoy the last few hours of the year.

My Year in Photos Part Three

On December 30, 2011March 12, 2012 By AngeliaIn Angelia's Photography19 Comments

This is the end of my year in photos journey. We have covered Jan-April in part one, then May-August in part two.

The end is part three which covers September-December.

And I am ready to end it. For some reason today, I decided everything I do is terrible. My photos are terrible. My editing is terrible. My knowledge is terrible. It spiraled down to why do you even try? And then, I had to face The Blog, and my photo project, and daily blogging……

All I can say is…….. I am here.

I am going to post WONDERFUL pictures and get out of this slump that is trying to drag me down.

And I want to thank you for that. If I didn’t blog (if you didn’t read and comment), I’d probably just close down shop and be depressed at how terrible I am.

Instead, I get to blog and read your super nice comments that make me feel better. So much better. I guess we all have our down days and this one was mine. But I digress….

Here is my photography for the last of the year.

September

I had a slumps of sorts through the summer months in pursuing photography. Was it the heat? Was it the fact that my husband was told he had spinal cancer by a doctor that was treating him for his car accident injuries? Yeah. I didn’t want to do anything those months but spend time with him. I certainly didn’t want to take photos, edit photos, or blog about it. Many tests later, he was cleared. The scan showed a cluster of blood vessels. They looked like cancer, but were not. Ahhh! It was a scary time, and I did not talk much about it.

September I got to shoot my co-workers newborn baby Ava. Favorite part of newborn shoots? Holding the baby many, many times. Love! I, also, took photos of Sydney in her work uniform because she was so darn cute with her tan and her gear. How did anyone NOT slip when they saw her?

Basket Baby Ava – this was taken on my front walkway. I put it on Pinterest linked to my photography website and she was repinned seventeen times.

Okay, those blue eyes are killer. It’s a good thing she doesn’t know how freakin’ gorgeous she is.

And we got a new car in September. Jason, and I shared a car for FIVE long months. That is not easy when you work 20 mins away by freeway. So this I took pictures of.

It’s pretty much my car now versus our car. It’s just so much easier for me to drive than the Toyota Venza (people, the Kia has a back-up camera, oh yeaaaah).

October

Our first anniversary, October 10, 2011.

I had the honor of taking dance pictures of my childhood friend’s youngest daughter. Isn’t she beautiful?

Another Pumpkin Farm photo, Molly on the back of the old truck in her bat girl costume. Love that truck!

November

November was my busiest photographic month on record. I went to Clark Gardens, Dallas Arboretum, and downtown Fort Worth. I cooked with mom, and took photos for a future recipe book. I did Christmas photos of my family and the ex-wife with the girls. I did two sets of Senior Photos and a metal/rock band’s group photos. I took photos of my niece and nephew’s First Communion and of a one-year old. And then there was Thanksgiving. I’m a little surprised I didn’t burn out, but it was sooooo fun. And after double checking dates, I photographed Sydney and her boyfriend in November too. I have no idea what three images will end up next, but it should be good (and three won’t be enough).

A hornet’s sweet stop.

Senior girl Arden – 2012. This is also Sydney’s BFF.

Sydney at the railroad tracks. I LOVE this photo and it has not been edited. This is straight from the camera at a beautiful time in the evening.

December

And here we are at the end. But the end is just a new beginning.

One of the cookies from our annual cookie bake-a-thon with all the in-laws and ex-laws. This cookie was loved by sprinkles. Aww!

Bridget got a doll bed made by her Papa for Christmas. Look at her face. The fact that this was made with love is even more meaningful and something she can pass down to her children. She is one lucky little grandchild. Molly got one too, but I didn’t get her expression. They both love the beds.

Also? December and we have leaves???? Not to mention I took photographs of FLOWERS; like roses, and daisys. What the heck winter? Where are you?

And that wraps it up!

Are we ready for New Year’s Eve? I think I must be. My last photo album I labeled December 29th, 2012. I guess I’m jumping ahead already. What’s really bad is that I just noticed the wrong year about 10 mins ago and it’s been labeled that way since this morning. Ha.

Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!

My Year in Photos Part Two

On December 29, 2011 By AngeliaIn Angelia's Photography10 Comments

Yes, part two.

See..my husband thinks I already posted the year in photos (all of the year). But he would, sadly, be wrong. I posted Part One January through April.

Then yesterday, I posted a year in BLOG POSTS (with pictures). Ensue mass confusion.

But it wasn’t the rest of the year in photos – only blog posts with a photo and link. Really similar, but they are different.

And I am sorry for the confusion.

Now, that we are clear (right, honey?), on to PART TWO – May, June, July, and August – photos of the year.

May

I visited the Fort Worth Zoo (again) and a wildlife park in Glen Rose, Texas. Syd is really lucky that I, also, choose one of her birthday pics instead of more animals. I looooves the animals, but I loooves Sydney too. And we won’t talk about me crying a contact out of my eye picking a card for her birthday before being an adult, or why as I get older, I cry so much. Geez!

© Angelia's Photography — Fossil Rim Wildlife Park in Glen Rose, Texas.

June

June was Bridget’s month. She graduated from Pre-K and turned five years old. She is the baby of the family (I was the baby of the family), I proclaim June Bridget month.

July

This was a coming home kind of month. Sydney came home from her month-long trip to Mississippi. The little girls came to stay at our house the entire month of July. They went from sleeping over four nights a month to about twenty-seven nights that month.

August

Happy Birthday to me! The big 4-0. What did we do to celebrate? A whirlwind trip across southern California (my favorite place in the world!).

This has been a very blessed year, full of miracles, and wondrous sights.

Hope you are enjoying the look back as much as me.

In a few days, we will be in 2012. Wow!

One more photo post to go, and then it’s Jason’s Birthday…..yes, a New Year’s Eve Baby. Awww!

My Year in Blog

On December 28, 2011 By AngeliaIn Mama Kat's Writing Workshop24 Comments

Do you ever have those days? I’m too busy to talk, just read my blog? I found a image on Pinterest for that.

And basically, this post is for those who can’t read my blog and just want a yearly recap.

I’m linking up to….….and the prompt I chose……

1.) This year in blog posts…choose a favorite post from each month of 2011 and share.

I always do a year in blog posts. It is AMAZING to look back on the journey. You can click on the links or the photos and it will take you to the post.

I started out blogging every day in January, but the one post that has stuck with me is a writing piece called Bass Tower. I have been so involved in photography, sometimes, I forget that I can write ~~when something possesses me~~ when I have time. The story haunts me, because it’s just the beginning. I encourage you to read it, and let me know what you think. It features two of my favorite things. Snow and the apocalypse.

In February of this year, we had more of my favorite stuff SNOW with the not-so-favorite-stuff ICE. It led to many days of not being able to get out of the driveway which may be why ~~we totally lost it~~ decided our dog was the TOP PET (model that is). Oh my poor Anna! But goodness, I love her expressions.

March is when we visited the hill country and took a side trip to Fredericksburg, not to antique shop, but to climb Enchanted Rock. I really and truly thought I was going to die and as pretty as that rock is……I ain’t climbing it again. I am AFRAID of heights. When am I ever going to listen to myself?

Our spring is full-blown heading to summer in April and that is why we took the kids to their first Drive-in Movie. A little celebration of almost summer. This post was Freshly Pressed on the http://wordpress.com home page for a day. I loved that they picked this one, because it is a reminder of old times, and ones our kids can still be a part of.

A lot of stuff happened in May, my daughter turned seventeen, and that was awesome. But the most craziest thing was the snake in the house. Yes, you read that right. A snake. IN the house. The hallway to be exact and I stepped on it. Yes, I have nightmares. I post about the tragic event and those Zombie Dreams in the Unapocalypse.

I blame Jason for this event. Here is why…. about two weeks earlier there was a snake bigger, but just like this one, on the back patio at the back door. Of course, I ran and took pictures of it. Jason says, he is leaving the snake alone. He doesn’t mind it being there as long as it doesn’t come in the house. SEE! His fault!

In June, I posted the vintage portraits I took of the girls for their mom. It was most definitely the most popular post and everyone loved the old-fashioned photos.

I really bombed blogging in July. I only posted three times. I am going to blame non-ending rash of over 100-degree days (IN A ROW!). I think my brain fried. But I learned Photoshop. At least that stuck in my brain, probably, it melted there.

August was just as hot as July (maybe hotter), but I managed to make a post Smile. Or, at least, the people (and animal) in it. I turned forty too!

I love smiles.

Summer is still strong in September, but we caught a day or two break from the heat. I started posting my California vacation pictures. It is HARD to choose one post, but I have to pick Point Loma Lighthouse. The sea and I…we have this thing going and I don’t ever want it to end. Put me in lighthouse forever, and I will be so happy.

I almost got my blogging mojo back in October, but come to find out, it was just a warm-up for the next two months. We celebrated our anniversary of being married one year. We said good-bye to summer (yes, finally in OCTOBER). And I took the girls for photos at Hall’s Pumpkin Farm. I was hot and I thought the photos would be terrible, but I could be wrong (sometimes).

I blogged thirty days in a row for November. I am not sure how I did it, or what made me decide to do it. I just did. And I’m glad. It’s not easy to blog every day (and do photos like I do), but I accomplished it. The most popular post was my Weekly Photo Challenge for Windows. I must admit. I love reflections. I love glass. And I loved doing this windows post.

Now, we are in December! I am choosing a recent post – Weekly Photo Challenge: Between. I like this post because it combines my two greatest loves. Photography and writing with vision and purpose. I am constantly seeking the flow of what I do and this is as close as it gets.