Winter Wonderland

As most of you know, an ice storm recently came through Oklahoma City.  On Friday, as snowflakes were still softly falling to the ground, I decided to brave the snow in order to get a few pictures.  I love ice storms, I think they are magical.  It is as if everything has been encased in glass and suddenly my world becomes fairytale winter wonderland.  If only it wasn't so cold, I could have walked around outside for hours just enjoying the beauty of it all.  However, since my fingers were freezing, I decided it was probably best to just snap a few pictures and post them here... my way of capturing the beauty for years to come.  I hope you all enjoy...

Ice Storm + Snowed In = Lots of Extra Time!

I have been at home, watching my world turn white, since yesterday morning.  Work was closed, roads were icy, and Dwyatt and I have just watched this storm dump freezing rain, then sleet, then snow on our front yard for close to two days now.  Needless to say, I have had a lot of extra time on my hands...  it's amazing how much you can get done when you are just sitting at home with no place to go!

What have I done with this time?  I have officially revamped and redesigned the blog!!!!!  So excited!  I can't wait to see what you all think...  this is the logo I will be using with the website; along with the color scheme I have chosen.  It has taken lots of trial runs, but I finally found a design that I LOVE!  I have also learned much more about editing HTML code during this process than I ever wanted to know.  It has been fun, and it makes me so excited and inspired to start blogging more often. 

Please, please, please let me know what you all think!  Good, bad, or indifferent I'd love to hear your comments...  and for those of you who only read my notes on Facebook, here is the like to the actual blog  :)

This afternoon (while it was still snowing like crazy!), Dwyatt and I took the new truck out for a spin around the neighborhood... he just had to see how it would do on ice...  I snapped some cool pictures of the ice storm, and I will be posting those tomorrow...

Stay tuned!
Cait

Coming Soon...

I haven’t been so excited about anything since I was planning my own wedding! I am constantly waking up in the middle of the night with new ideas popping into my head… then I can’t seem to get back to sleep, so I’m out of bed by 7am… on a Saturday… I’m pretty sure that Dwyatt thinks I’m crazy as I spend hours staring at my computer screen, typing, drawing, designing, editing, and perfecting… He lazily curls up next to me, kisses me on the cheek, adds the obligatory “That looks great babe…” whenever necessary, and spends the day watching football. He is supportive and happy for me, but he keeps me grounded, which is really all I need because I have a tendency to be way over excited about things and run full speed ahead a million miles an hour!

So what exactly is my new project that I am so excited about? Well for those of you that follow this blog… you can probably guess… I’m getting a new website! Seeing that it is now the year 2010, which is not only a new year but a new decade, I have decided it’s time to have an official photography website! Along with this new website will be an updated version of this blog, and an entire marketing campaign! I am slightly overwhelmed by this, but I have decided that this is the year to make the leap and just jump off the deep end. How else will I learn to swim?

Some of the things I know I’ll be doing in my first round of marketing is to have the website, blog, updated logo, a Facebook fan page, a Twitter account (yes, really… I’m jumping on the band wagon…), new business cards, flyers, and a couple other ideas I have up my sleeve! If you are reading this post; First of all, thank you so much, I’m honored. I really hope you will continue to read, and spread the word to everyone you know! Ok, maybe not everyone…but almost everyone?? :)

All of this is to say that if you find that my blog is going through phases and changing each and every time you visit, don’t worry… it will have a final reveal in all it’s updated glory in just a few weeks! I CAN NOT WAIT to share my new look with all of you! I promise it will be worth the wait :) In the mean time, if anyone has any advice or input on marketing ideas, I would love to hear them!

Adios!
Cait


Since blog posts need a picture, here is a photo I snapped the other day with my Blackberry. It’s my reflection in ball valve… a valve that goes into a gas pipeline so that we can control flow.  That's me in Carhartts and a hard hat.  Could I get farther from wedding photography?  Anyway, I thought it was a pretty cool picture…

Krista & Jason - Enagement Photos!

I met Krista for the first time when we were about 10 years old. We were in 4-H together and spent countless hours showing horses together. Together we rode, trained, washed horses, hauled horses long distances, critiqued each other, and often celebrated victories together. I have many fond memories of the long summer days and countless hours we spent in the show pen.


After we both graduated from high school, we went our separate ways to pursue our degrees and fulfill our dreams. I, as you know ended up in Oklahoma, and Krista has ended up in Nebraska! She is currently a PhD student at Nebraska State University, planning to get her doctorate in Microbiology. I always new she was smart  :)


While attending Nebraska State Krista met Jason... A fellow Husker, Jason graduated from Nebraska State last May. Jason is strong, energetic, and kind. He dotes on Krista, and it’s easy to see his love and affection for her. They are just right for each other, and I’m eagerly awaiting their wedding in June.


For their engagement session we met at a local park in the Black Forest of Colorado. It was quite cold outside, and the ground was covered in snow. We basically hiked all over the park exploring different locations and taking advantage of the frozen winter wonderland God blessed us with that day. By the time we were finished we were all freezing! However, I’m glad we decided to brave the cold, because the pictures were totally worth it.


Krista & Jason – Cherish each other and enjoy this busy time as you plan your wedding. I can’t wait to celebrate your special day with you in just a few months!

And we just had to end the day with a good old-fashioned snowball fight!!

Happy New Year!

First of all, Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s already 2010. Just saying twenty-ten sounds so futuristic and strange to me still… however I am excited about the upcoming year and look forward to all that life has to offer!

I have written my goals for the year. This is something I do each and every year. Then at the end of the year I review my goals and see how well I did. I actually did pretty well in 2009, I started with 14 goals and I accomplished 11 of them. This year I have a whopping 23 goals. I know I’m ridiculous…but those of you that know me realize this is exactly the type of thing the nerd inside of me loves :)  In the spirit of opening up and sharing of myself through this blog, here are my goals for the year:

 1. Complete a ½ marathon
2. Complete a sprint triathlon
3. Complete the P90X program
4. Lose 15 lbs – this goal seems to make the list every year… ugh…
5. Start my MBA – get A’s or B’s in all my classes
6. Rosetta Stone Spanish: Complete Levels 1 & 2
7. Build trellis and/or outdoor kitchen for backyard
8. Visit 2 or more places (cities/countries) I have never been before
9. Spend at least 2 days on the beach
10. Go Scuba Diving
11. Attend a photography workshop
12. Photograph at least 2 weddings
13. Set up photography website
14. Photograph at least 10 people I don’t currently know
15. Blog more regularly – at least 75 entries
16. Be the best wife I can be to Dwyatt and keep my marriage strong
17. Call friends regularly – just to talk…
18. Pay off a large chunk of my student loans & save more
19. Deepen my relationship with Jesus Christ
20. Finish Mom’s Christmas stocking
21. Attend a NVRHA event to support my parents
22. Create and implement a budget
23. Begin learning how to play the guitar

 This is a rather long list… but it keeps me motivated, busy, and assures I live life to the fullest!

 There are a few events I am already looking forward to this year with high anticipation. My cousin’s wedding in February, My in-laws house warming party in March, the Crawfish boil in May, Krista’s wedding in June, my Mom’s birthday in July, my Dad’s retirement sometime this fall, and much more I’m sure…

 I hope that each and every one of you is looking forward to this new year with joy and anticipation as well!

 And since I have yet to blog about Christmas, here is a sneak peak of what our house and tree looked like this year. I will hopefully do a full post regarding our trip to both Texas and Colorado soon.