End of an Era

That's how Donna Boucher described the fact that after the Pioneer Woman updated her website, there is no longer a photography section, which means no more posts by Donna.

This makes me a little more sad than it probably should.  After all, I read Donna's blog everyday (www.booshay.blogspot.com), and I'll still keep reading the PW site too.

I think I'm sad because that little Photography tab at the top of the Pioneer Woman website kind of changed my life.  I know that sounds drastic, but it's true.

I remember sitting on the couch, holding a sleeping baby that wouldn't seem to gain weight, while reading the "what the heck is aperture?" series learning everything I could about photography.  I wanted to take pictures of Kira in order to remember every second.  I read all of Donna's articles as well, and one time clicked on the link that took me to her personal blog mentioned above.  I remember reading she was near Madison, and a few months later I made the trip by myself, leaving my baby for the first time for more than an hour, and met with Donna.  My sister and I went back this past May, and I'm sure we'll go again this spring, if she'll let us.

After meeting Donna, whenever I read a tutorial she had written on the PW site I wanted to yell, I KNOW HER!

Anyway, I'm grateful that the PW led me to Donna, I'm just bummed that more can't learn from her on that huge, well visited site.  I have no doubt Miz Booshay will continue to change photographer's lives.

Another thing I'll miss are the contests that the PW had.  It was fun to see what other people submitted, and once one of my photos was on there as semi-finalist.  Call me silly, but it's one of the things I'm most proud about when it comes to my photography.

So, is it s huge deal in the grand scheme that there is no more Photography on the PW site?  Well no.  I guess I don't like change  : )

trip home

So, trying to get back on this blogging thing.

Tuesday night my mom, sister, and I went to the Taste of Home cooking school.  It's not really school, it's more just watching a cooking demo, but it's awesome.  And we go every year.  And every year my hair is the same and I wear the same vest.  And every year is great, though we never win the door prizes.  This year it was at a different location, but we had good seats : )

While I was home I did some last minute senior pictures for some twin boys.  These two boys are part of one of the greatest families I know.  I met them all when I worked at St. Peters.  I still can't believe that these two are old enough to need senior pictures.  I bet their mom feels the same.

A great love

So, I haven't blogged in a super long time.  Like, I had to reset my password because I had forgotten it. 

But, I went to a wedding on Saturday, and it was so incredible I wanted to spread the joy.

Jim, Kristin, and Emma live across the street from my parents.  Jim and Kristin got married on Saturday, and it was one of the best weddings I have ever been to.  My sister and I actually photographed it, and my mom was Kristin's personal attendant.  It was the first wedding that I photographed that I also had to bring the bride's wedding dress to the church! : )

It's going to be hard to put into words, but these two have a love that is so real.  The way Jim looked at Kristin literally took my breath away.  I think most grooms are excited and such when they see their bride, but I will never forget the look on Jim's face.  He adores her. 

 

Emma is Kristin's daughter from a previous relationship, but Jim is her dad, 100%.  At the wedding, after the vows, but before the kiss, the Pastor explained that just as Jim had a ring for Kristin, he had a gift for Emma as well.  He knelt down and gave her a bracelet with a charm that said Daughter and the date.  Jim didn't have a microphone near him, so the whole church couldn't hear what he was saying, but I was close enough to hear almost every word and it blew me away.  He told her how he loved her, how he always would, and how he would protect her and take care of her for the rest of her life.  I can't even type it or talk about it without getting tears in my eyes.

 

Such a special day.  So much love.

 



I wish I could put the feelings of the day into words, but I didn't even come close.  Moral of the story- if I can love my family half as fiercely as  Jim loves Kristin and Emma, I'll be doing well  : )

summer is here

So there's been a lot going on.  Part of me loves being busy, part of me wants things just to slow down a little.

Yesterday my mom and Kira and I picked strawberries at Kathan's and made jam.  I love canning things.  It's kind of an obsession.  In the past my mom and I (and sometimes sister) all work in the kitchen together.  But now that Kira's such a busy big girl, someone has to be watching her- usually my mom, so canning is a little more work!
Kira did so well picking strawberries!  She ate a few of the warm juicy berries, and had fun digging around in the straw between the rows.

I don't have pictures of the jam, but like anything with that much sugar in it, it is delish!

On Monday, my friend Julie cut of 10 inches of her hair and donated it to locks of love!  Julie is one of those people who is gorgeous on the inside and out.  Here are a few pictures before she cut off all that hair!

 And after!  Her hair is SO cute and sassy. 

This really makes me want to do something with my hair.  Something with a little more STYLE!

But then I watched and episode of Real Housewives where they all have long gorgeous hair and that made me want to grow it out. Huh.

 I post most photos on my photography blog- go to www.laurakleffmanphotography.com and click the blog tab, but here are a few photos I've taken lately that I LOVE.

10 minutes with Kira and Bella

too quiet

I haven't posted in almost 2 months!  Crazy!  A lot has happened.  I may blog about some of the things later; I may not  : )

Yesterday I did a photo shoot with a super sweet 6 month old.  His mama is surprising his dad and grandpa with photos containing some of their military stuff.

Check out how charming this little guy was!

The nice thing about photographing my friend's children is that I can bring Kira with me.  I usually park her on a blanket with a snack and some toys and she's fine.  Yesterday, she was a little too quiet.

I looked over and found this:

Fruit puree everywhere.  She usually doesn't waste a drop of one of these....

I love her.

new table

Yesterday after church Brent, Kira, and I drove down to Cannon Falls to a large antique store to look for photography props or decorations for our house.  I am drawn to green glass jars, dark brown bean pots, old crates and boxes, and antique kitchen utensils.  And of course, Red Wing pottery items that cost more than my truck does.

We were walking through a furniture area when I saw a bench I REALLY liked.  It was definitely old, but I wouldn't be nervous sitting on it.  The stain and the quality of the wood was gorgeous.  I couldn't find a price.

Turned out there were two benches, and the went with an old farmhouse table.  The whole set was gorgeous.  Brent and I paused and looked at it for a moment.  We both loved it.


Long story a little shorter:   we left with the table and two benches.  I love it!! 

On a related note:  is anybody looking to buy a table and 4 chairs??

pioneer woman

The Pioneer Womans' new cookbook came out yesterday.

It's a wonderful book.  I like her first one better, but probably because it changed my life.

Think I'm exaggerating?  I'm not.

I bought her first cookbook just kind of on a whim.  I was walking through Barnes and Noble and saw it.  I like cookbooks, I like ranches and horses, and I didn't think twice, I just bought it.

A lot of people bought her book because they had been reading her blog; I started reading her blog after I bought the book... and have been reading it every day since.

I remember the first time I saw her on tv.  I was SHOCKED that she had a southern accent.  It's funny to me now, why wouldn't she?? She lives in Oklahoma.  I guess I just thought she's sound like me  : )

Reasons why I love her, her books, and her blog:
1.  She makes recipes I actually make.  There are pictures and directions, and she makes it hard to mess up.
2.  She gardens.  I love reading about what she plants, from tomatoes to herbs.  I feel less crazy because she shares the same OBSESSION with basil.  I dream about planting basil, and I feel less crazy because she writes about her love of basil!
3.  I love reading about/looking at pictures of their horses.  Growing up showing horses and being completely obsessed, its hard not to still daydream about owning acres of land and looking out and seeing your herd.
4.  She homeschools her children.  I think sometimes homeschooling moms get a bad rap.  I might be one of them someday, so I like to hear about her experiences.
5.  Her blog taught be about photography and introduced me to the amazing Donna Boucher.  This fact right there truly has changed my life.  Ree takes pictures of her life and what is around her, and the beauty of simple things amazes me. 
6.  I met her, and just really wanted to be her friend.  She smelled good, and I was jealous of her long hair..... I kinda feel like a creeper writing this, so i'll move on.
7. She cans!  I sometimes feel odd telling my friends about my love for food preservation.
8.  Even though she's never come out and said exactly what she believes in, I feel like we share the same faith.  I like that.

There are probably many more reasons, but those are a few.  Go out and get her books, you won't be sorry!

sick, but full of joy

I've been down in my hometown since Friday.  I had hoped to see the high school's production of Footloose, but Kira and I were just too sick.  Kira had a fever of 103 which scared the pants off me, but it came down with Tylenol, so I felt better.

Saturday morning I went to my favorite town of Hokah to catch up with a friend and smell the barn.  I miss it.  Here are a few pics from the morning.

When I got back home, it was clear Kira had gotten worse.  I canceled plans with my friend Amy and took Kira to urgent care.   She had a double ear infection.  Poor girl.  The rest of the day was spent hanging out.  Brent was in Winona getting his conceal and carry permit and learning about the history of guns in general : )

Jenny and Ruby came home Sat. night.  My parents are watching Ruby while Jenny is in Florida for the week.  Lucky girl.... even though I think we might have the same weather here in MN!  Kira loves Ruby.  They're cute together.



My friend Carly and her husband Steve were also down in the area for one of Carly's showers, so I asked if we could do her maternity pictures on top of a bluff!  They agreed, though at the time neither of us knew it would be daylight saving time and we'd have to get up EARLY.  Here are a few of my favorites. 

Even though it was windy, chilly, and really early in the morning, it was a fun shoot.

Last night my mom and I went to Fiddler on the Roof.  My dad had surprised us with tickets at Christmas.  It was an EXCELLENT performance.  We laughed, got goosebumps, and even shed a few tears.  That darn sunrise, sunset....   My dad had been looking forward to playing with Kira, but she slept most of the time we were gone.  Here is the three of us before the show.

lots of words, no pictures

It's been awhile since I've blogged.  Here's what's been happening.  There will be no pictures in this post because I am too tired/lazy to post them.

1.  I got new running shoes.  They look a little boyish, but they make my feet and knees so happy.
2.  I read all three hunger games books.  I've known about them for awhile.  I read the first one in an afternoon.  I bought the second on the next day, but when I got to page 127 it skipped to page 188 which obviously did not make sense.  At first I thought maybe it was an intentional trick, like one of those chose your own ending books, but really, the book was missing a huge chunk.  I returned it and got another with all of the pages.
3.  I got sick.  Real sick.  I have this disgusting and painful hacking cough.  Yesterday I had sinus pressure so bad I thought my cheekbones were going to break.
4. We went to Hibbing to visit Brent's side of the family.  Kira's cousin Jaycee is 2 months older, and half the size of Kira!  Must be my Swedish genes.
5.  I have been having CRAZY dreams, probably due to cold medicine.  Last night I dreamed that Jenny and I were trying on dresses.  I should have known it was a dream at the time because Jenny and I were the same size.  Anyway, we wore our new dresses to a gas station to get a diet mountain dew and in that gas station was Steven Tyler.  We told him we liked American Idol.
6.  Today I booked a wedding for this summer.  There have been a lot of things I said I would NEVER do.  Weddings was one of them.... huh.
7.  My mom went to a home and garden show last weekend.  I was bummed I couldn't go with her, so I started some basil seeds.  I love basil.  And tomatoes.

Maybe I'll be better at blogging in the future.  I like writing things down, even if it's just for myself, since things seem to happen so darn quickly these days.

Another shower, and shopping!

On Sunday, we had a baby shower for my friend Carly.  The girls came, and brought their husbands with them.  The girls chatted, played games, and opened presents.  The guys played boot hockey on the pond behind our house and ate and hung out down stairs.  It was a fun day.

My friend Sadie and I are the same in that we want to make sure everyone is well fed- we make some good food.  At the shower I made egg salad on croissants, spanikopita, greek chicken skewers with tzaiki sauce, caprese skewers, pink pop corn, chocolate covered strawberries, and punch.  Sadie made reeces brownies, cupcakes, a little cake, stuffed mushrooms, and olive spread and french bread.  

We like cooking : )

It's always fun to celebrate babies.  Steve and Carly know they're having a girl, but aren't telling the name.  That drives me crazy!

Yesterday my sister and I met my Aunt Linda and did some shopping for my brother's May wedding.  We all got dresses!  Even Kira  : )

My evening was spent at the gym, and I got home just in time to see the end of the Bachelor.  Lamest season ever.  Castle was good as always, though I fell asleep on the couch before they found the killer.  Dang.