NEW PHOTOGRAPHY BLOG!

HEY EVERYONE! I started a new blog! I am trying to get my birth and newborns photography business going! Here is the link: http://ambermariephotos.blogspot.com/

I don't know very many people here yet, so hopefully I don't have too hard of a time building the business. Pray for me and wish me luck!

Let it Snow...Let it Snow...Let it Snow!

This weekend we got quite a bit of snow here in Raleigh. It was a lot of fun! Dustin and I built a snowman and he turned out really cute! :) Here are some of the pics:

Recently, my little sister Kristi started her own business doing bridal makeup and she wanted to take some pics for her portfolio. So she did my make up and hers and we went out and took some pics in the snow. I think they turned out pretty great!

So many questions...

I haven't blogged in a while. Partially because I was wrapped up in wedding season and didn't have time but also partially from laziness. I'm going to try to be better about it though.

So I'm back into the challenges. I didn't do challenge 3 because I didn't think I had time for it, but thinking about that now it is just a ridiculous reason. There is always time to be healthy! It was just my way of copping out of something I didn't want to do. I ended up gaining 10 of the 18 pounds that I lost during the first 2 challenges just because I wanted to be lazy. I'm not going to do that again! I'm going to stick with it this time until I am happy with myself, and even then I will stick with the maintain program!

So the title of this blog is, "So Many Questions..." The reason for that is because I have SO MANY QUESTIONS about my life right now.

#1: Will I be able to have children?

This is a question that has haunted me my entire life. I know I need to give my worries and fears to God and he knows what is best for me, but sometimes that is so hard to do! This is something I am really working on. I want children SO BADLY and I would be devastated to find out that it isn't possible for me. Dustin and I officially started trying last month and unfortunately I received the dreaded monthly visitor yesterday. I know that getting pregnant sometimes takes a little time, but I was am disappointed. So I am really asking for y'all to please pray for Dustin and me! I trust God 100%, I know he knows what is best. It is just so hard to be patient sometimes.

#2 Should Dustin and I moved back to Oklahoma?

This is a major question that Dustin and I have been asking ourselves for a long time now. Kristi and Eric have decided to move back to OK. Eric really misses living there. At first, Dustin and I were like, "Well, if they are leaving we are going to leave too because we don't want to be here by ourselves!" But now we are starting to question that decision. We love it here! We decided to move to North Carolina for a reason and we still believe in those reasons. It is beautiful here, there is so much more to do here than in OK, there are more opportunities here for us and our future children, etc. We love OK too, we love the people in it. I miss my friends and family there every day. I can't imagine not living close by to my sister. She is my best friend! I think that would be the hardest thing. It's been kind of hard to meet people here, but to be perfectly honest I haven't really tried that hard. Since the idea of us moving back to OK has always been an option I haven't really tried to meet people because I didn't really see the point in it. Now that the idea of moving back to OK is so real I'm starting to think that I don't want to. The ONLY reason why we would move back to OK is because of the people in it. We miss them terribly! BUT...a lot of those people are considering moving away someday. So if we move back for them, they may not even stay there. It's such a hard decision. If we do decide to stay here I am going to make an even bigger effort to meet people. I'm going to join Junior League (A women's volunteering group) and hopefully that will help. We also haven't found a good church here yet. That is another BIG thing that will need to change.

#3 If we do stay in NC, should we move to Asheville to be closer to family?

We are also considering, if we do stay in NC, moving to Asheville. Asheville is in the mountains, only 3 1/2 hrs away from the ocean and in the same town as Dustin's aunt and uncle. It is also A LOT closer to my mom who lives in KY (Right now she lives 9 hrs away, if we move to Asheville she would be 5 hrs away.) So we need everyone's prayers again. This is a HUGE decision for us. If we move back to OK, that is it! We can't go back.

Wow. This was a long blog for me. I hope that all of you beauties are doing great with the challenge! This weekend was really hard for me. I will be praying for all of you. PLEASE PRAY FOR ME AND FOR DUSTIN!!

New Bridals!!

Here are some of the newer bridal portraits that I've taken this month. I think they turned out pretty great! :)

This bride wanted her bridals taken at the Raleigh Rose Garden...It was really beautiful there. The roses were in full bloom.





The photos below are of a bride named Laura. She was extremely nervous and shy...not that you can tell from her pics! She is such a beautiful girl and she took amazing photos!

Great News!!

Dustin isn't getting a motorcycle!!! I am soooo happy! He decided that getting a truck would be better! I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief when he told me this. I never told him that he couldn't get a motorcycle, but I did tell him that it scared me. I feel a lot better about him driving a big truck around than a teeny tiny motorcycle!

So that is my news! Sorry if you guys thought it was going to be something bigger...like a baby ;) However, Dustin and I have talked about it some more and we've decided to start trying for a baby in about 6 months!!!! We figure that by then I should be established in the wedding industry and he's due for a raise around that time. I have to say...I'M NOT WAITING ANY LONGER THAN THAT!!! LOL!

On another note, I worked out yesterday. I lifted. I haven't lifted in a while. I normally do cardio classes like kickboxing, Zumba or step. I AM SO SORE!!! I can barely move!! I started hearing from different trainers that I needed to mix in some weight lifting into my workouts. I've always been afraid of getting bulky, but they showed me how to do it the right way. Lifting smaller amounts of weight for more reps. So...I am in pain today! It's good pain though ;)

I also got my hair done yesterday! I've been putting off going to the salon for 6 months because it's always scary going to someone new when you move. My hair was ridiculously long and it was badly in need of a cut. The girl that cut my hair did a GREAT job! I'm so glad I went to her! She cut my hair about an inch past my shoulders, put some layers in it and added some subtle carmel and dark blond highlights. I LOVE IT! I will post pics soon. I told her that it sucked because I finally got my hair done but I was just going to turn around and put it up into a ponytail for the gym.

Hope you all are having a great week! It's almost over!

Sushi Sushi Sushi!!

Okay...I am really REALLY craving sushi right now! I'm trying to stay away from so much white rice, but boy oh boy I want some sushi!!

I am really excited for this weekend! We have a wedding shoot in Pinehurst, NC and we get to stay in the hotel for free!! For those of you who have never heard of Pinehurst, NC, it is a town based around 8 HUGE golf courses. The US Open is held there, it was voted the best golf course in the US for 2008, famous people and people all over the world are always golfing there. It is beautiful! The photographers I work for are the featured photographers for Pinehurst, so when someone gets married there they have to use our studio. I was there a few weeks ago for a meeting with the wedding planners and I felt like a sheltered little girl. It was so pretty and southern! I loved it! The wedding we are shooting this weekend is a $350,000 wedding! Can you believe that? I can't even fathom what it is going to look like!

I hope everyone is going stong with the challenge this week! It has been great reading all of your emails and stories! They are all very uplifting! There really is strength in numbers! We can do it girls!

My week 3 results

Here are my week 3 challenge results:

Pounds lost this week: 1
Total lbs lost in challenge: 5
TOTAL cheat eats used: 3
Total inches lost (all over my body): 15!!! (my butt and my arms are being the most stubborn!)

I know that the rest of you only have 2 weeks left and I am only halfway through...but keep up the good work! Those of you who are struggeling, I am praying for God to give you strength! Good luck beauties!!!