Enjoying the Blog

First of all, I feel like I should apologize for the profuse amount of blogging that I've done since I've re-opened this blog. I never realized how much I missed it! I blog for many reasons, but one big reason is so that I remember (and focus on) the good things in my life. It seems like if we don't record the things that go on in our lives we easily forget them...and for some reason we tend to forget the good things first! Maybe I'm just in a strange stage or something, but since I've started blogging here again, it is SO MUCH easier to be thankful, content, and joyful! I love it :)

Anyway, I came across this post from Jessica Claire's blog the other day, and really appreciated it. So I though I'd share it with you!

Update your bookmarks...I've got a new blog! www.carolinejoyphoto.blogspot.com

Man, well, wow...several big things have been happening in my life!

First of all, I am officially finished with school this semester! YAY! Well, until Summer school starts that is. :)

Second of all, my car engine blew up on Thursday...not pleasant, but my lil car had seen it's day. Want to know some Caroline trivia? I've had that car since a few days after I turned 16. I just loved it! Wanna know more? I named it Waldo so that I could go out into a parking lot and say, "Where's Waldo?!" Cheesy, I know. Come on, I was in High School :)

So, as unexpected and stressful as the car blow-up was the day it happened (last Thursday), I've been excited because I've been getting ready to get another vehicle. And actually...I BOUGHT IT TODAY! But I can't tell you what it is yet because I have to surprise some particular friends and family members in person. But I'm EXCITED! Once everyone knows, I'll let you know!

And here's the final bit of exciting news (as the post title suggests)! It is just like the last bit of news--a lot of excitement, but with a bit of loss too. I am proud to announce the launch of my NEW BLOG! I'll miss this blog dearly, but this NEW blog is my official CarolineJoy Photography blog! Oh boy! Now, honestly, I'm not finalized on the design yet, so let me know what you think. I may be changing the look around a bit in the next few days so leave me comments to let me know which one you like best! And update your bookmarks! :)

www.carolinejoyphoto.blogspot.com

So here's to the last post on this dear wonderful blog. I've loved every minute of it! Cheers!

Spring Break is upon us!

My blog post average per month is going down fast. Looks like we have a critical situation on our hands. I have a really good reason though...but it's top secret. So...sorry. I can't share it. But I'll give hints.



Hint #1: There are two reasons.

Hint #2: One is .net

Hint #3: One is blu.

Hint #4: You'll see both of them very soon.



I bet half of you can make an accurate guess now. :)


Well, in other news, Spring Break is coming up! That's so exciting. I can already tell you it's going to be a good one-- full of wholesome, non-alcoholic fun. :) And hey, my birthday is coming up too! I won't be blogging in honor of Spring Break this coming week...


But don't lose hope in the dear ol' blog...exciting things are in the future.



In the meantime, here's an simple, classy outfit that you'll LOVE for Spring Break!

The Dress that is WAY comfy, on sale for $15, and even cuter than it looks in the photo.
The Jean Jacket that provides for the cool nights and everyone needs one anyway.
Lastly, the Shoes that make the outfit!

In the Meantime

Happy 100 posts! That's right, Under the Canvas sky rocks 100 posts as of today! Let's go intercontinental to celebrate: a photo from Spain. Sweet.

This year coming up is one of those years where so many exciting things will be going on. When people ask me how I'm doing, I find myself answering with a list of the exciting things that are going to be coming up. I just find that interesting. I don't think it's a bad thing to be that excited about things on the horizon, but there's always this Jim Elliot quote that surfaces in my thoughts every now and again: "Wherever you are, be all there." I've never quite had a year where I'm so excited about the opportunities coming up like this...but in the meantime, I don't want to lose focus on the small, seemingly mundane events. I've been so incredibly blessed by these passions the Lord has placed deep within me. It's so exciting to watch Him prepare to bring these deep desires to the light and give them a place to bless others! But the small things are still here, too. Pray for me, if you think about it, as I try to balance the big with the small. There is value to be found in it all.

Jesus...don't let me get caught up in dreams for myself. Let me be swept away in Your grand plan to further You're name! You've done so much; keep my focus on you, let me give you all the glory. These things you've done are for YOUR NAME...not mine. Lord keep me looking for people to serve in small ways. Help my attitude, countenance, everything Lord, help it reflect You. Such a gift to have "an unveiled face" to reflect your glory!

100th POST!

Happy 100 Posts Everyone! To celebrate...free Starbucks for everyone!

I wish. I seriously tried to find an online coupon or something to post here so you could all get a free drink. But alas, I could not. But we're still going to celebrate! :)

First up: Top 10 one-liners from the past 100 posts!

10. If you don't know what propagated means, you should look it up before you ever try to use it as a synonym for "advocated." :)

9. My brother is in Canada...Why, oh why can't I go to Canada? Eh?

8. Home is the place where you get better!

7. During this crazy time of the semester, I need to pick up an extra job to support my coffee habits. Yes, it's that bad.

6. You know how sometimes Thanksgivings are kind of a let down because you just sit around all day and watch your older brothers play video games? Well, this year was definitely NOT like that! It rocked!

5. Christmas is my favorite. Break out the Elf DVDs!

4. Maybe instead of blogging, I should be cleaning the kitchen...wait...nope.

5. PS I ate dinner at 3:00 AM last night. Wow.

2. It just hit me that I am so freakin' blessed to have had the Lord throw this photography opportunity at me. Seriously, it feels like he threw it at me. In my face. :)

1. I'm definitely feeling the holy fear in me just thinking about it.

2. Then Meg and I stayed up til 3 being dorks again.

3. Someday when I get a laptop, I'll be able to blog during boring classes *evil snicker* Just kidding...who does that? I take my education seriously! :)

4. How can you go from 11 years old and wearing socks that don't match on purpose, to being 30, flirty, and thriving (with a killer sweet loft) in one day? I don't know...and I'm neither 11 nor 30. So...alright.

5. I just loved it and wanted to show my 21 year old enthusiasm towards this movie made for 9 year olds. :)

6. (AH!!! World famous photographer on the phone with me!!!!! :))

7. Today my dad is 55! My awesome grandparents with an awesome sense of humor came by the shop today and brought us McDonald's "Senior Cokes" - for only 32 cents - claiming he could get them now since he was a senior! Isn't that just great?

8. Sounds like broken nose fun! And it was! No one broke their nose, but we had several elbowings and lots of tackling.

9. I'm really curious about what's making this clatter under my desk. It's only every few minutes and it sounds like someone is shaking a tin can with a button in it. Where did that analogy come from? The 1800's?

10. Besides who wants to watch the outside of someone's house for 15 hours? What a party.

11. I need to get a laptop if I'm going to blog. It's much more exciting and romantic to blog in a coffee shop or out on the porch or anywhere else but my room.

12. I know I'm weird, but when houses flood, I always get excited.

13. There is a rubber duck on my desk...not sure how it got there.

So, okay the numbering got a little messed up, but you get the picture! :)

Things that are comin' up...

Good gracious. I have been a blog-slacker this past week! I apologize for my huge absence recently. School has been kicking my bum...and it will probably continue to until December 13th. I can't wait til it's all over! It's really strange though; this is the first semester where I have close friends graduating or moving. I guess it's hitting that time of life. Hm. I love life though...this semester has been very hard but the good most definitely outweighs the difficult. It's been a semester of making friends. I almost hang out with ACU people now more than HSU people. :) I like to laugh about that irony.

This post will be scrappy, I won't lie. But after December 13th I will have many amazing and wonderful things to post! Here's a few things to watch for:

*My very first bridal session and wedding as a photographer!! Can't wait! They will be sweeeet!

*A second-shot wedding (I'm helping Laci Adkins out)

*A super fun road trip to a surprise location that's AWESOME! I'll be blogging every day to chronicle the event...get ready for your own vicarious adventure. :)

*Oh and most definitely CHRISTMAS and a cool, cool countdown with tons of fun ideas to celebrate the best season of the freakin' year!

Maybe a few other surprises will be thrown in along the way too :) For now, I'll leave you with the band that's getting me through finals. PARAMORE!! They are amazing! A little on the punk side with the hardcore front girl singer, every song on their CD Riot is so good! My favs: Misery Business, When it Rains, We are Broken, and Hallelujah. The other super-cool thing about this band is that they are all Christians and their lyrics are profoundly spiritual, but they are a secular band and all over MTV. Yay for Christians putting superb music out there to reach the lost!

Hope you guys all survive finals too. :)

Happy New Blog-Look Day and Thanksgiving!

Looky! Things are different around the blog! I spiced it up a bit for Christmas time--my favorite time of the year! A few small changes were made to: the banner at the bottom of the page, my friend's blog list, my About Me, and maybe a few other things. Obviously the big top banner is new...yay!

Hope you all have absolutely wonderful Thanksgivings!

Your to-do list for the day

Okay, I've had this blog since June and I've made 80 posts. Not too shabby. But here's my goal: I want to have 100 posts by January 1, 2008! Can I do it? Watch and see...

And here is your to-do list for the day:

1. Eat a candy cane. I'm eating my first candy cane of the year as we speak, and it's just making me feel all toasty warm inside! The holidays are here!!

2. Check into your city events and see if the Nutcracker ballet will be happening anytime soon in your area. No better way to enjoy the season than a little fine arts. I LOVE the Nutcracker! I LOVE ballet! I should have been a ballerina...

3. Check back here tomorrow evening for a massive photo post including a salsa dancing party and Emily's quest for a wedding dress! Here's a teaser...

Inspirations! Kareem Iliya, J. Crew, and Across the Universe

I've decided I want to start sharing things I find that inspire my artsy side with all you blog readers out there. First up, this is a little random, but I found that I really enjoyed looking at all this cool, silhouetted, fashion art by Kareem Iliya. Definitely not something you'd see everyday. I also loved that her website is so simple and you can look at everything without having to click millions of buttons and wait for load time :) Check it out!!



Second is freaking J. Crew. I'm in love with them. Too bad I can't afford 'em. But if you want some free inspiration, sign up for their catalogue! Seriously awesome photography, amazing locations, sweet fashion ideas...perfect. Not to mention, did you know J. Crew designs wedding dresses?! When I get married, I want one!


Third and last is the movie "Across the Universe." Wow. Ok, so just know it is a little trippy and weird so if you're not up for that, wait til you're in the mood. But the music and cinematography is SO FASCINATING! And...be warned...you will need the soundtrack. :)

That's it for the inspirations this time! Enjoy the end of October! Hope you have a great day. :)

The Rundown (+ a few extras for you!)

Well, it was another successful weekend! Here's the rundown:

Friday: Went to Branch's CD release concert and then took my final picture for Blu's contest (which I did not win by the way...bummer).
Saturday: Meg and I relaxed and watched half of "Ever After" until 8, when we decided to get all pretty and go to Chris Norwood's CD release concert (it was so chill and wonderful!...made me want to go to Austin), then we played around on campus being dorks, then met up with Tino, Russel, and Megan to go to dessert at Johnny Carino's, then we went back to our apartment and all SALSA DANCED! So much freakin' fun! Then Meg and I stayed up til 3 being dorks again. I really cannot describe to you how much fun this night was...dancing is probably my favorite thing in the world to do, and salsa dancing? Even better.
Sunday: Got up and went to church at Morning Star (biggest blessing ever; I thought about sleeping in, but the Lord just put this passion in my heart to praise Him...it was so good), then went to the church-wide cookout-- yay free food!, then took an accidental 2 hour nap, and then woke up and went with Megan, Jenn, and Daniel to study at the new Starbucks for 5 hours.

I'm sure you wanted to know all those details. :)

For those of you with extra time, you should check out Nate and Jacelyn's blog (theblogisfound.com). They are awesome photographers, but are now on vacation in Canada, and are blogging the whole trip in pictures. For some reason, looking at it just gets me excited about having a family someday. They already have a little girl and just found out Jacelyn is pregnant again! Be encouraged as you look...it's really sweet!

Also, for those of you wanting an amazing song to listen to, check out Phil Wickham's song "Always Forever." I heard it the other day and was so touched that I almost started crying. It could be taken as a love song between people, but I found it to be an incredible love song between God and me. It just seems to usher me into the presence of God every time I hear it. How sweet is it that we are invited to have intimacy with God?

It's so overwhelming and good. He is worthy...

Life is real, Life is earnest...

Hi friends, just a quick message to let you know I'll be updating the ol' blog again! But not this moment...this day is too freaking gorgeous and I'm headed outside to take some pictures with my new camera-- that's right, during the blog break I finally bought a Canon Rebel XTi!!!! If you want to see a few pics I've taken, check out my facebook. Anyway, thank you all so much for prayers and your friendship. The Lord really astounded me with all the people He brought out of the woodwork to encourage and help me. It sure is a hard journey...but I'm finding peace everywhere.

More to come...Much love.

"Life is real! Life is earnest!
and the grave is not its goal;
dust thou art, to dust returnest,
was not spoken of the soul." Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

I can't take it!! :)

Ok, sorry but I can't rock the modern look for too long...I don't know exactly why but it's too much for me. Ergo...NEW facelift is on the way! Hopefully it will be amazing :) I know you probably all think I'm crazy for changing this thing up so much. What can I say, I have a lot of free time at work. Speaking of free time, this is the last week of BluDomain's Happy Hour (a famous photographer Q and A time-- LIVE!) and Nate of "The Image Is Found" is on!!!!!! I'm eating dark chocolate and enjoying every minute of throwing questions at this famous photographer. Check out Blu's blog. It's on my link list over there on the left.

Also, school is starting up in 3 days which means I probably won't have as much time to blog. Someday when I get a laptop, I'll be able to blog during boring classes *evil snicker* Just kidding...who does that? I take my education seriously! :) But I will keep up with the blog to the best of my abilities. 18 hours this semester though...whew!

Did I mention that Megan is back? So exciting! Friends are awesome. We all watched High School Musical 2 again last night. Yay. :)

Hello Modern

Well, wow! What do you think of the blog overhaul? I've just gotten on this huge modern-loft-style kick. And these are the effects of that! It's funny to me that I had just posted something about HSM2. How can you go from 11 years old and wearing socks that don't match on purpose, to being 30, flirty, and thriving (with a killer sweet loft) in one day? I don't know...and I'm neither 11 nor 30. So...alright.

Hope you're enjoying it as much as I do!

Dunder-Mifflin, This is Pam.

I have to brag! Google Analytics tells me I have a blog visitor from Scranton, Pennsylvania. As we all know, that's where the best show of all time, The Office, is set. SO PROUD! (and silly, I know) :)

If you don't have Google Analytics for your blog or website, get it! It's so much fun! Brian, I'm talking to you!

NEW DESIGN!

I know this is my third post today, but...I redesigned my blog!! Isn't it grand? I LOVE IT! Leave me comments and let me know what you think!

A tad bored...

I love classical music...it is just GRAND! Right now I'm listening to Bach's "Suite for Solo Cello 1" and it's just gorgeous.

I added some new links the the ol' blog! In doing so, I realized how nerdy my family must be...we all have blogs/our own websites. I'm the one that is behind the times and uses Blogger instead of my own domain. :) So if you have a moment to spare, check out Brian and Daniel's blogs.

I can't believe this week is amost over! It has flown! And I still feel like I have so much to do to get ready for camp. Not like packing, but like praying. Pray for me if you think of it. But I am...I really am...confident that the Lord will use my words to glorify Him. The most important thing is my heart. If it is standing in humility, love, and awe before Him, He will take my words and somewhere between where they left my mouth and entered student's ears, He will make them His own. Miracles. Yes.