to vote or not to vote...

once upon a time i ran for class office.   i was a freshman - happy to be in a new school and ready to be on student council.  i can remember making signs and being so excited at the thought of being elected.  in the midst of it all i asked my mom a question...

"do you think its okay to vote for myself?"

"of course it is.  if you don't vote for yourself - you don't believe in yourself.  do you know i lost an election by one vote?  i voted for the other guy to be nice and i lost."

so i did.  the ballots came and i cast my vote... for myself.   i still lost and never ran for office again.   lucky for me, losing out on student council lead to speech team, newspaper staff (hello photography), and friends who were also not on student council. 

fast forward a couple years to my college public speaking class.  at my college there is a thing called a speak-off.  held every year between the different public speaking classes to determine who was the best of the best.  being a former speech team president - i wanted to win.  however, i had to get there first.  the person who represented each class was determined by the class. ahhh voting once again.   it should not have been hard.  i had a KILLER speech.  except... my best college friend was also in the class.   she too had been speech team president.  we both wanted the speak-off.  bad. i can remember us saying something to the effect of, "you do not have to vote for me.  vote for yourself.  no matter what - we will be excited for whoever wins."

at this point i'd like to say that God knocked our snobby speech team butts to the ground.  who were we to think it was for sure one of us?  but it was.   votes where casts.  once again i put my own name down.

i won.

by one vote.

i'd by lying if i said i habored NO guilt.  i did. i told myself that she probably voted for herself too. 

 but we had sworn not to tell who we voted for, so there was no way for knowing.

i went to the speak-off and ROCKED it.

i did not win. but my prof lead on that i should have ;-)

fast forward even more years. 

a contest.  10 photos. photographers from all around the area. an email. voting for days upon days.

did i vote for myself?  you bet.

after all i did promise to stop comparing and believe in myself more.

voting ends in a matter of hours and like i said before i am happy to be in the top ten.  truly.

 in the end the most important thing is that i believed in myself to even enter this contest and i determined to  keep believing.   keep reaching.   keep dreaming.

i will pray bigger than i have ever prayed before.

thank you so much to everyone who voted and believed with me.   now go cast some votes on your dreams.

one more time...

we are asking for your vote!  tomorrow is the last day and we would love your support!

http://northernindiana.weddingday-online.com/contests/photographer/vote/28

we will know the outcome february 7th. not to sound cliche BUT we already feel like winners being in the top 10. truly we do. i look at the other 9 and i am humbled to be put in the same category as them!  truly amazing talent!  its my honor.

once again, thank you tiffany for alllowing us to capture your day!

(this is not the shot in the contest - look for her ORANGE shoes!

go for launch.

for weeks my husband has been working away building our website. 

 its pretty awesome.   go check it out!

http://catiescaptures.com

snow snow snow...

its no secret. i loathe snow... well snow on the roads.   to be honest i am probably one of the most nervous drivers when snow hits.  i drive slow and i think i hold my breath the WHOLE TIME.   its true. 

so here's a little prayer of hope that we either get NO SNOW or at least that the roads are clear by morning. 

in the meantime here's a little picture that makes snow worth driving in.

monday monday

here's to hoping you are dancing your monday away!  



where did the weekend go?

so i broke my own resolution already... i haven't blog... but i am blogging on sunday to make up for it a bit... today was wonderful.  church.  a healthy mexican lunch (i am the best at healthy mexican meals - because i love mexican and refuse to give it up in our new healthy living goals!) ... followed by resting with my love.   we cleaned the house a bit and are now both trying to get some work done before the week starts... both of us wondering where our weekend went...

a bit of mine went to this little girl

she is too cute for words.

more to come.

top ten.

we are so excited to annouce that we have made it into the top 10 for the wedding day magazine's "best of weddings - photographers"  its an honor.  we are humbled and excited. 

voting begins today & you can vote every single day until jan 31st.   if you have a minute please vote for us!  

http://northernindiana.weddingday-online.com/contests/photographer/vote/28

our image!   special thanks to tiffany who posed like a pro that day!

i resolve to...

 take more pictures - when i am not getting paid.  you would think i took pictures all the time in our normal everyday life... but i do not!  this year it is going to change

be healthy.  eat better & exercise.  blog about my progress

 set aside time for spiritual growth everyday

 stop comparing myself to others.  personally & professionally

 organize

 simplify

spend more time with people i love

blog more... maybe even everyday... except on sunday.  sunday is for church & rest

laugh more

love better

 pray big

(my FAVORITE selfie of us in 2011)

everyday is christmas

i planned today to be the day of resolve... where i set goals... wrote them down ... made a plan...  instead i am posting a christmas picture... because the first thing i resolve to do... is remember i need to live like everyday is christmas ... remembering everyday  the little baby who changed everything and living accordingly.