Awkward & Awesome Thursday {A fun little group posting}

I've really been enjoying this new little weekly blog theme; a big thanks again to my friend Heather for getting a group of us together to start doing this! I really hope you've been able to get a few giggles on our behalf...we've definitely all had some pretty awkward "awkwards"  to share! Thankfully, we've also had some pretty incredible "awesomes" to share as well...


Without further ado, here are some of the moments from my week that have left me both smacking myself in the head with embarrassment, and smiling big...

THE AWKWARD:

• Feelin' all pumped and ready for an awesome workout in some schnazzy new cross-trainers....and then looking down while you're a few miles in only to realize you never took the huge tag/info pamphlet off the shoes. Now everyone at the gym is aware that you have a 15-day test run of the shoes. nice.
• Why is it that every plant I bought for my garden out back has withered away, but the weeds are all growing lush and plentiful? I will win this battle....someday....
• I know that I'm going to be 32 and that everyone on the planet has to go to the Drs and should really just get over it already, but seriously...all the questions you have to fill out or answer when you're seeing a new Doctor? I really wish the "ice breaker" questions when meeting a Dr for the first time could be more like "Did you see Hangover 2? Wasn't that hilarious?" rather than "and when was the first day of your last period?" 
• 23 days 'till the Iron Girl Triathlon. WHAT?!!! 

THE AWESOME:

• New running shoes....I love the extra little "bounce" they add to your step!
• Skype! I know we're behind the eight ball a little bit, but two months in to this deployment my hubby and I FINALLY had the chance to see each other. Pure awesomeness to see his smile.
• Noticing that all the squats and lunges and hours spent at the gym may finally be paying off....I do believe my booty is a little bit perkier! (or maybe it's just the extra bounce from my new shoes....either way, I like it hehe)
• Friends that convince you to do things you'd never do otherwise....like sign up for a triathlon. Seriously Ali...I love ya....I hate ya, but I love ya....

OK...I have a TON of blogging to catch up on over the next few days, so stay tuned. But don't forget to hop on over to Heather and Erica's blogs to share in their Awkward & Awesome's as well. Love those gals!  


{Above Image: Kristen, one of Awesome instructors at Omni Fitness. She kicks my butt twice a week...and was one of the Featured Members I photographed last weekend for the gym's monthly Spotlight.)

The Wait is Over {OpLove Homecoming}

Photography, to me, is always all about the moment - the emotion, the spirit, the feeling, the person. The lighting and setting is something I usually control. But sometimes the moment is bigger than you, and you don't have a say in setting or lighting...and while the images you capture may not be the most technically perfect, what you are capturing is beyond that...

At 1:45 AM today I had the luxury and honor of being able to experience one of those perfectly imperfect portrait moments. A poorly lit field and a quite crazy hour of the morning...hardly a photographer's dream situation. But this was definitely one of those "bigger than me" moments - a soldier's homecoming after a year in Afghanistan. It doesn't get much bigger than that...

Those first glimpses of each other; the first hugs; the first kisses; the tears; the joy; the moment a family becomes whole again. All is right once again in their world. Nope, it certainly doesn't get much bigger than this. And the smiles say it all...

Welcome Home! It was truly an honor to capture this moment for you...Thank you XOXO

{disclaimer} "The photos and other content of this publication do not constitute or imply any endorsement or recommendation by the Department of Defense."

Awkward & Awesome Thursday

{insert photo of me & Paulie here}

Wow! To say that the past seven days has been a blur would be a HUGE understatement. But what an awesome, humbling, {exhausting} and emotional blur it was. I am so grateful for the

experience I had getting to photograph the behind-the-scenes action of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition build. I will never forget this...and I have the 1,200+ photographs to prove it. yikes!

So for this week's "Awkward & Awesome" images I have a very cute shot of myself with EMHE Designer Paulie. I've been so excited to post it here...but for some reason my blogger is being temperamental today and I keep getting the dreaded "box with the red X." Boo! But that's OK, 'cause it is "Awkward and Awesome Thursday" and to have a post on a photography blog that doesn't include a photograph definitely fits the awkward category. 

Without further ado....here is this week's "Awkward & Awesome"

The Awkward:

• Talking to a group of people you had just taken a photograph of and asking them what brought them to Fayetteville from Nashville, TN...at a country music concert... in the VIP tent...{whoops! in my defense they had changed their shirts since they stepped off stage! sorry, guys!}
• Nearly face-planting at the construction site in front of a whole slew of people. {How was I supposed to see the hot pink wire tied to the stakes that was outlining where a wall was going to go?  Certainly the man bent over hammering in one of the stakes to stretch that wire wasn't a dead giveaway that something was there....and certainly I wasn't really that silly to not be watching where I was running to on a construction site! }

The Awesome:

• This entire week! Seeing a community pull together to build a home for a wonderful family and the Women Veterans who they so lovingly help was just beyond words.