Where would you leap if you could leap anywhere on Leap Day?

Leap years are an interesting thing. This morning we were trying to decide if we are actually working an extra day this year because we're on salary. On the radio they were discussing whether it would be more practical if nobody had to work on leap day, since its basically a "free day" and it would be a great opportunity to do something you'd never normally do on a week day. I think if that were the case, I'd probably do something CRAZY, like go bungee jumping, because I could probably convince myself that leap day is the only possible day I'd ever go bungee jumping. I mean...its LEAP day.

However. I do not have a free day off, so instead I channeled those positive ideas into some illustration fun. Happy Leap Day! Now that we've got family day, I vote we start pushing for leap day off. Its totally doable, i mean, we have four years to make it happen.

But what about you? Where would you leap if you could leap anywhere on leap day? (aka what would you do if you had today off?)

Marie & Steve, Engaged!

Ok, maybe its cheesy, but I can't stop thinking "love grows in a greenhouse!"

Last saturday Marie and I had contrived to meet at her house before heading to the beach with Steve for some nautical engagement photos. The weather, as often is the case in Whiterock, was predictably unpredictable, and we all realized that between the rain and the wind, the beach was not going to be the setting we hoped for.

Can you say happy accident? Forced to change our plans, we stumbled upon what I have decided is the best indoor photo location EVER. Lucky for us that my Aunt and Uncle (oh yeah, I forgot to mention that Marie is my cousin!) own greenhouses, and that Marie is currently living on the property. So we traipsed into the backyard and explored!

But that's enough about the location (except seriously, it turned out awesome)! Because the best part was actually meeting Steve, this soon-to-be cousin-in-law, and witnessing firsthand what a perfect match these two are! You guys are wonderfully cute together, and spending some time with you both leaves me so excited for your future together! As well as so excited to hang out with you guys more often...what do you say, bi-monthly double dates? lol!! Just kidding, but kinda not. We did have fun.

Nothing more to say: pictures!

 

 

Dreaming of kittens...

I'm dreaming of kittens. I'm not kidding, I can't stop. And not just in my sleep, I probably day dream more about kittens these days then anything else. Why you ask? Well because today my kitten was born!! I decided 2 months ago that Dwayne and I were going to get a kitten. It just so happened that my aunt's cat had flown the coop (again!) and had another litter on the way. I know my aunt wasn't totally stoked, since they were kinda feeling like she'd had enough kittens (I don't know the number, but trust me, she has a lottttt of offspring!) but it worked out well for me.

This morning 6 cute adorable (probably slimy?) wonderful tiny kittens joined the world! And one of them will be coming home with me. Shoot, the next couple of weeks are going to take forever until I get to take my fur ball home!!

Sneak a Peek at what I've been up to this week...

The March insights will be hitting mailboxes mid-march. Subscribe for this (wonderful!) free magazine online here, or visit here to view it online after March 10.

P.S. I LOVE shooting with my new flash/umbrella set up. Oh, the possibilities!

Prepping for the LEAP.

This past weekend I taught my first class. EVER. And the crazy thing is that it was a photography course! Now before you start thinking I'm talented or something, I should disclaim that its a 4-part course at my church. For free. No pressure right? WRONG!

Unlike my younger sister, I've always known I wouldn't be a teacher. I'm not the most uncomfortable talking in front of people, but pretty close! In no way is teaching anywhere near my comfort zone! I'm not so much nervous, but totally convinced that I have no right to be up there acting like I'm something special. I was asked to teach the class a few months back, and immediately felt it was something I had to do, and that God was intending to stretch me. I've learned that often the things I fear most are God's favourite opportunities to teach me.

The evening went relatively well, but as I walked away I started to feel physically sick. It's over, but there are three left! What if they hated it?!! Did I say something stupid? Probably! I'm pretty sure it took me close to three hours and a good dose of AFV to finally relax. And prayer. Of course a constant stream of prayer and conscious effort to release my anxiety and rest in God's plan.

But you know what still amazes me most about this first experience with teaching? Three days before the day came, I finally felt at peace with it. God calmed my nerves and prepared me when it really mattered, before I got up to speak. (i should mention that he did this through a "head-flu" that sapped my energy and mellowed me out, but it did the trick!) And while I chilled out in my head I managed to get some nice photos in Whistler, a good warm-up to shooting "spirituality through a lens." What an incredible world!

Go Play Outside.

A doodle cus its Friday! (Can you tell that lately I've been inspired by my heroes, Invisible Creature?)

The best part of this illustration is that I started it on a new ipad app (well new to me) that we loaded onto one of the ipads at work. I'm excited about the possibilities!! The only reason I moved to my mac was that I was getting a headache from looking down at the ipad...that could be an issue. And at this point I'm still much faster in illustrator. ok and also, I wanted to finish it off in photoshop.

We Make A Great Pear!

Its February! The month of loooove...according to any department store you go into. Well, to be honest, Valentines has been on the shelves since Christmas ended. I've never been super into this holiday, even once I booted my single status out the door for good. Somehow it just makes me feel like I should be treating my loved ones better ALL the time, and then I do this dumb thing I do where I rebel inside and don't want to participate anymore. Which accomplishes nothing of course!

So anyways, this one time where I did actually show my love for no particular reason, I created this poster for my hubby and me :D. He loves pears, and I wanted to make something for him and this is what happened!

A Christmas Tradition

I know, this is old. Christmas? That was SO 2 months ago. But I'm feeling sentimental so let's rewind! On Christmas Day this year, Hubby and I started our first Christmas tradition. Last year on Christmas day, we had a midnight Whiterock adventure and got engaged. This year we ran down the pier at noon instead of midnight, and huddled from the wind as we reflected on how much has happened in a year! I mean really, we're married!

It seems  that part of our new tradition is extreme weather conditions. Last year we got soaked in a torrential downpour, and this year we almost blew away due to the high winds! I've never seen the waves so big! (of course, I'm no Whiterock native...)

See for yourself :)