in answer to a few questions...

i try to answer questions or expand on topics that are mentioned in comments left, or emails sent. i'm not always prompt in answering, but i try. so today will be an effort to cover a few things that i may have missed or that may have been asked recently.

but first, this observation: i think tom and i may officially be "getting old". last night, we had plans to celebrate our anniversary with dinner at one of our favorite higher end restaurants. but at the last minute we started talking about the chicken madeira at cheesecake factory. so we changed our plans and went to cheesecake factory and shared chicken madeira. oh and we ate at 5:30. BUT, in our defense, we planned to do some shopping after dinner...thus the early dinner.

while i was in CA, jenn (who could sell a yak to a couple living in a studio apartment in NYC!) had the coolest jeans...which i tried on and was determined to find when i got back home. i did an online search and found a few boutiques and one department store who carried them. so, after dinner, we went to von maur in search of david kahn jeans. they had a few styles, but not the ones i'm after. so i will be checking out the local boutiques soon. jenn is the person who forced  talked me into joining facebook, last fall, before the explosion recently. she's also the one who has shown me lots of amazing products at sephora (we spendhours at sephora, whenever we're working the shows). she was on a webkins kick for a few months...and i DID resist that. she just has a phenomenal way of presenting things. if anyone is looking for a salesperson, jenn is your girl!

after checking von maur out, we did some shopping for new clothes for tom. he's lost 50 pounds and hadn't bought anything new. his clothes are huge on him. one day he came home for lunch and i noticed how "empty" the fabric at his butt and hips looked...so i pulled on the back of his pants as he walked away from me...and the fabric stayed pooched out. we laughed so hard about that. tom has a reputation for being very frugal, (some might call him squeaky) so buying new clothes has been a struggle. plus he has the typical weight loss issue, of not believing he really has made that big of a change, and not believing he could be two sizes smaller. anyway, he went to the hardware store when his belt wouldn't hold his pants up any more, and bought a leather punch, so he could make more holes in his belt. that is classic tom novacek. i really do need to do updated photos of him.

*b* list q & a

1. I would actually love to hear more about your devotional routine. Do you get up early? Do you jump out of bed? (this is from my good pal maureen)i was thinking about this just this morning. from what i can figure, i think i have consistently been getting up and doing devotions for about 10 years (and before that, i was sporadic...i remember when brooke was a baby, i did quiet time at 3:00 every day, when i put her down for her nap). i, personally can't imagine what my days would be like without it. i look forward to it...it's not a struggle at all. it's one of my favorite daily rituals. i don't get up super early....my alarm goes at 6:30, but a lot of times i hit snooze until 7:00. some days i pop right up and can't wait to start my day. on the weekends, i don't set an alarm, but i still wake up at the same time. i read years ago about the importance of going to bed and waking up at the same time every day, and how beneficial it is...so i've made it a habit. i do truly look forward to my quiet time...so much so, that even when i was super busy this past fall, and going to bed at 3 or 4 am, i still wanted to get up in the morning and have that quiet time. i think it kept me sane during those months! and it always keeps me focused.
2. Becky....talk more about Mary and Martha. I am always interested in that subject.
   I'm the one in the kitchen, crabbing about doing all the work!!! (from my friend marybeth)i'm right there with you mb. i am very task oriented. i am a firm believer in "being productive"...which i think can be counter productive, when it comes to relationships. anyway, the book i referred to "God is closer than you think" and ortberg's writings were fresh to me. to very loosely paraphrase what he writes: it's not that martha chose a bad thing, working on the meal and being concerned about hospitality, it's that she didn't choose the best thing. he writes about how when you're the worker bee, and no one joins in to help, there's an "amplification phenomenon"....where you get more and more angry that no one is helping, and it becomes even bigger than it is. Jesus says to martha, "mary has chosen what is better." he goes on to write, "i suspect many of us are like martha. we have good intentions. we have invited Jesus into our homes. but we end up missing out on His presence-not because we rejected him, but because we just got overwhelmed by preparations for life. we got distracted.....sometimes in our martha moments we live under the illusion that worry enhances our ability to control the world. somehow we fear that if we stop worrying about something completely, it will really go wrong." he goes on to write about letting go. living in the moment. making good choices. not being distracted. it really spoke to me.
3. What tripod would you recommend for an amateur photographer, without a fat wallet?(an email from laura) i bought my tripod a few years ago-it's an induro A313 with the 3 way head...you can see them here (my local camera shop) i like it.
4. When I first stumbled on your blog a couple months ago, I recall seeing you test out some photoshop actions that you purchased (I believe) from another blogger.  I've looked through your blog again and now I can't seem to find the posting.  If you can remember the blog, I would be very happy!  Or if you have any other suggestions, that would be great as well.  (from an email from amelia) i'm not sure which photoshop actions amelia is referring to, but i will share my favorites. i use itty bitty actions, totally rad actions and   my new favorite bw conversion method (which kelly hooked me up with...she finds the best stuff online!) 

  

above is before...not bad. but compare to the after-

way more crisp and contrasty....less muddiness. the before is the action i used to use, and that is after tweaking it.

that's all i have time for today! i wanted to share one more thing before i post this:

 

 

the new wedding essentials magazine is out! i am so thrilled that they used the photo of katie and garrett with the wall of canvases! it's my favorite! 

i'm just about ready to proceed with details on the mini-book class that i've been writing about for months! maybe even a year! it's so fun! hopefully tomorrow i'll show some sneak peeks and have a date! i have another really fun thing in the works that i hope to reveal very soon! the loft will soon be a busy place!

have a great day and God bless! 

Comments

[tara pollard pakosta]

LOve that photo w/ the canvas's too! way COOL! love seeing you in a magazine! congrats!
tara

[Cara]

Oh I just love your posts! You can just write from the heart and I feel like I'm sitting talking with you. Your Tom Novacek observations crack me up! :)

Loved your images in the new Wedding Essentials magazine. Everything looked beautiful. You really rocked that wedding!

Take care bud and thanks for the email a week ago. Sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner. I'm doing so much better these days. :)

[Lynn]

LOVE this post! So cute! You are so cute! Congrats on the magazine it looks amazing!

[boo]

I love David Kahn jeans. I got mine at Nordstrom!!! If you have one near you if not check online! I love getting inspiration from your blog. Thanks!

[Kim]

I have actually been thinking about Mary and Martha alot lately. I grew up in a very "Mary" home. The thought behind it was, "The Lord can not dwell amidst clutter and confusion." Unfortunately, more often than not it was the task of getting everyting ready that chased the spirit away. As an adult and mother, I have struggled against my upbringing. My need to have things be perfect has drastically reduced over the years in all aspects of my life. UGH.......I have so many thoughts rushing through my mind. I can't put them into words. How 'bout this....if you ever find yourself driving with some time to talk...call me!

[Ali Gripp]

Hi Becky~
Some great actions that I have had fun with are here..http://www.petamazey.com/actions/ Love your blog..can't wait to take a class from you someday!!

[Maureen]

Thanks Becky :)
I have the book "Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World"....I bought it like a year ago and have not read it but you have me wanting to now!
Hugs.